2025 9th Asian Winter Games takes the stage in February 67 athletes from Taiwan will take part
The 2025 9th Asian Winter Games will be held in Harbin, China, from February 7 to 14, marking the return of the event after a 7-year absence. Taiwan will send a total of 67 athletes to compete in five sports: biathlon, skiing, ice skating, ice hockey, and curling. This will be the largest delegation Taiwan has ever sent to the Asian Winter Games. The Ministry of Education will hold a flag-raising ceremony on January 16 to encourage the athletes heading to the Games and to demonstrate the government's support for the development of winter sports.
This year's Asian Winter Games will be held in both the Harbin city area and the Yabuli area, featuring six sports and 11 competitions. A total of 1,256 athletes have registered, making this the largest participation scale in the history of the event, an increase of 109 athletes compared to the 1,147 participants in the 2017 8th Asian Winter Games in Sapporo. Taiwan’s delegation for this year will consist of 67 athletes. In addition to the debut of the women's ice hockey and women's curling teams, we will also be sending skiers Lee Wen-yi and Lee Jie-han, who have already qualified for the Milano Cortina Winter Olympics 2026, to compete. To ensure that the athletes can focus on their performance without worry, our delegation includes a team of medical staff, physical therapists, athletic trainers, prevention of competition manipulation (PMC) officers, and safety and welfare officers, who will all work together to support the athletes in their pursuit of good results.
Due to Taiwan's subtropical geographic location, the development of winter sports faces inherent challenges. The most recent winter international multi-sport competition Taiwan participated in was the 2024 Winter Youth Olympic Games in Gangwon, South Korea. While our delegation did not secure any medals, our young athletes gained valuable competition experience, which will be essential as they aim to qualify for the Winter Olympics in the future. Therefore, the main objectives for our participation in this year's Asian Winter Games are not only to strive for podium finishes but also to focus on accumulating more international competition experience for the athletes. This will help narrow the gap between Taiwan and countries such as South Korea, Japan, China, and Kazakhstan in terms of winter sports performance, with the ultimate goal of athletes qualifying for the 2026 Milan Winter Olympic Games.
The Sports Administration has announced that the 9th Asian Winter Games Organizing Committee has published the event schedule on its official website (URL: https://www.harbin2025.com/). Taiwanese who care about and support our athletes can follow the official website for updates on the preparation progress, competition results, and the performance of our athletes during the games.)