BEIJING - Chinese skeleton slider and medal hopeful Geng Wenqiang has been surprisingly left out of the roster for the 2022 Olympic Winter Games, which was unveiled on Thursday.

The 26-year-old slider, who won his first World Cup title, also the first for China, last November in Innsbruck, will have to sit out the Beijing Winter Olympics as his teammates Yan Wengang and Yin Zheng will compete in the men's skeleton event.

No official reason was given for Geng's exclusion.

Short track speed skater Han Tianyu was expectedly dropped from the roster as he himself confirmed earlier this month that he had been badly injured while training.

Han, 25, had been tipped to be the gold favorite in the men's 1,500m at the Beijing Winter Olympics, which is to start on February 4.