'Lack of aggression' leaves host floundering

Liu, however, remained adamant that he could race, asking the medics to "stitch it tight" at the hospital, according to Chinese team manager Liu Chenyu, and dismissed the coach's suggestion to sit out the action on Sunday.

"Waking up the next morning, I still felt quite a strong urge to keep racing. I never thought about quitting, as I still want to help my team and give 100 percent.

"I persuaded the coach and doctor to let me race, and I appreciate, very much, the medical staff who helped me get back in shape in time," said Liu, who just last week celebrated his 27th birthday.

Despite the pain and fatigue from a long night, the reigning 500m Olympic champion anchored a gusty performance in the Sunday final to help Team China finish second in the 5,000m relay, only outpaced by the all-conquering Team Canada.

No other Chinese skaters managed to land a podium finish over the other five individual events, with last year's world champion Sun Long and women's youngster Wang Xinran the only two others to reach their respective Final A races over the weekend.

Despite the disappointing results, China's head coach Zhang Jing still took pride in "progress that cannot be defined by medals".

"Overall, I am not satisfied with our performances and results," Zhang, who guided Team China to the top of the medal standings with four golds at last year's worlds in Rotterdam, told Xinhua.

"Our skaters were not aggressive enough and have a lot of catching-up to do in close battles. They have to learn to be more brave and dare to take the lead," said Zhang.

Citing unexpected errors, such as Sun's stumble while leading Friday's 2,000m mixed relay quarterfinal, coach Zhang urged her athletes to improve their "composure under pressure".

"Some tiny errors and mistakes, due to lapses in focus, have cost us dearly. This is what we should keep working on to avoid next year," said Zhang.

Some individual progress shouldn't be overlooked, though, even without delivering medals, Zhang emphasized, referring to Wang's first Final A appearance at the worlds (women's 500m) and Gong Li's personal best run in the women's 1,000m quarters.

"I think we've grown more mature and more confident taking the lead in the race against the world's best," said Wang, a formidable 23-year-old member of China's 3,000m women's relay team.

"We have to be better in changeovers, route selection and fitness, for sure. I believe we'll be able to maintain a lead throughout a race sooner, rather than later."