DUSHANBE, 07.12.2022 (NIAT Khovar) – The Beijing Winter Olympics Games have come and passed, but people’s passion for winter sports has not faded in the slightest.

As China Matters tells, Zhou Yunjie is a goalie from the Beijing 1979 Ice Hockey Team. Most of the players in this team are now over 60 years old, many of them starting out as students at Beijing’s Shichahai Sports School. Starting hockey classes at a very young age, the players devoted much of their time to training hard on the ice. But in 1979, that hard work paid off with their amateur team winning sixth place in the National Youth Ice Hockey League, shocking many.

However, that same year, the team was unfortunately disbanded for various reasons. Zhou Yunjie and his teammates parted ways and went on to pursue different careers.

In this video, Zhou Yunjie shares his story about how he’s reunited with his old teammates to play ice hockey once again after hearing about China’s plans to host the Winter Olympics. “The first time I put on the equipment to play ice hockey with my old mates, I actually cried.” Zhou Yunjie said in the video. In order to honor this reunion, they named the team “Beijing 1979,” symbolizing a new beginning for them.

Zhou Yunjie and his teammates vow that they will keep pursuing their ice hockey dreams.