BUDAPEST - China's mixed relay team advanced into the semifinals as a group leader at the 2021-22 season ISU World Cup Short Track Speed Skating series in Debrecen, Hungary, on Thursday.

China, consisting of Fan Kexin, Qu Chunyu, Sun Long and Yu Songnan, won the quarterfinals with a time of 2:40:853, ahead of Canada, Italy and France, while in the other group, South Korea dominated skaters from Hungary, Japan and the United States.

In the women's 500m race, China's Fan Kexin and Zhang Chutong made it through the quarterfinals on the opening day of the event, while in the men's 500m event, three Chinese skaters, Ren Ziwei, Wu Dajing and Yu Songnan qualified for the semifinals.

Also on Thursday, in the women's 1,500m race, Chinese Han Yutong and Zhang Yuting both came in second in their heats, and thus secured their places at the semifinals. In the men's event, three skaters from China made it to the semifinals - An Kai, Sun Long and Ren Ziwei.

The event also serves as a qualifying tournament for the 2022 Olympic Winter Games. Enditem