American Hockey Players Set to Represent China Against US While Using Fake Names
For many athletes, playing in the Olympics has been a dream since childhood. And some North American athletes were willing to shun their own countries in order to achieve that dream.
According to NBC Sports, 18 of the 25 players on the roster for China’s men’s hockey team during the 2022 Beijing Olympics were either born or raised in North America.
One of those players is Jake Chelios, a player for the Beijing-centered Kunlun Red Star in the Kontinental Hockey League. He grew up watching his father and NHL Hall of Famer Chris Chelios in the Olympics, where he reached the 2002 Olympic final in Salt Lake City, Utah.
Twenty years later, Jake Chelios will also be representing a host country in the Olympics. But instead of playing for the United States like his father, the Chicago-born player will be playing for communist China.
“I think half the family was a little confused of what was going on at first, but now they’re starting to understand how special it is,” Chelios said, according to NBC.
The 30-year-old Chelios said since he has lived in Beijing for about 10 percent of his life, he feels like he is a part of the Chinese culture. – READ MORE
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