ISTANBUL－As the 2022 Winter Olympics draw ever closer, professional ice hockey players in Turkey's largest city, Istanbul, are raring to watch and analyze the action in order to level up their own game.

Both the men's and women's national team of Turkey failed to qualify for Beijing 2022, but they are already working toward trying to reach the 2026 Games in Italy, according to Deniz Ince, coach of the Istanbul men's and women's ice hockey teams.

"Like every athlete and every coach, we also have Olympic dreams," Ince told Xinhua during a training session at Silivrikapi Ice Rink, on the European side of the city.

"As Turkey, unfortunately, we are not there," Ince lamented, noting that most of the qualified Olympic teams have a deep-rooted culture in the sport.

Ince added that he's particularly interested in the development of Chinese ice hockey and hopes his teams can play friendly matches with their Chinese counterparts in the near future.

"In recent years, China has made a huge leap forward and invested heavily in this sport and athlete and coach training," Ince said. "With such rapid development, the Chinese teams will become better and better."

Ice hockey was introduced to Turkey at the end of the 1980s, but only in Istanbul and the capital, Ankara. In Ince's view, it has made a lot of progress since then.

Currently, there are ice rinks in many of Turkey's provinces, and numerous teams have been established, playing in different leagues and categories.

Aleyna Lokbas, a 23-year-old national team player, said the Turkish ice hockey teams have already begun preparing for the 2026 Winter Olympics.

"Everything starts with watching the games," she said, adding that her team intends to analyze all the plays－and especially the performances of the elite players－at the Olympics.

Lokbas will also be paying particular attention to the Chinese women's team, which she says has a playing style all of its own.

Seventeen-year-old Ziya Efe Guclu is now playing in the local men's Super League. He hopes the sport can develop more rapidly in his country and that he gets the chance to skate alongside foreign players and coaches.

"We still have a long road ahead, but we will do better for the next Olympics," he said.

Xinhua