China's short track speed skating team finished back-to-back ISU World Cup events in Seoul, South Korea, on a high with an impressive win in the men's 5,000 relay, culminating in two gold and two bronze medals. 

The men's relay team - whose squad for the final consisted of Liu Shaoang, Ren Ziwei, Sun Long and Li Wenlong, who replaced favorite and star skater Liu Shaolin - finished the 45-lap race with 7:05.762, defeating powerhouses the Netherlands and Belgium.

The win marks the relay team's second victory in the World Cup series after four races. An error by Liu Shaolin cost Team China a home win at the previous World Cup event in Beijing a week earlier.

"The win in relay has demonstrated the team's unity and tacit understanding," said Sun, who is the leading finisher of the race, before noting that the team members value team events over individual races.

The national team was troubled by online abuse after the Beijing event as some radical fans targeted individual athletes and head coach Zhang Jing for the "underachieving" performance of the team.

Sun said avoiding errors was a key factor behind their win. 

"The ice in Seoul is less than perfect, thus having zero errors means we are half way to a win," Sun said. "It's very difficult to overtake others on this ice, so it's more than an 80 percent chance that we'll win by making sure we're in first place when it comes down to the last skater."

Veteran Ren, a two-time Olympian, said he will spend the next two months to improve himself.

"After the races in Beijing and Seoul, I deeply feel that I am lacking certain stuff, which I will focus on improving in the next few months," Ren told reporters after the race. "My next competition might be at the National Games. I hope I can create some surprises at the time."

He was referring to the National Winter Games, which will be held in Hulun Buir, North China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, in February 2024.

Until the previous weekend's World Cup event, Ren did not participate in any international races after winning a gold medal at the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics.

On top of the team glory, Liu Shaoang also defended his 500 meters title with a last-second surge to surpass South Korea's Seo Yi-ra to win by 0.09 seconds. 

"It was a tough race but we fought on the field together," Liu Shaoang wrote on Sina Weibo afterwards. "Winning the team gold medal is the best demonstration of our team effort."

In the women's races, the relay squad of Qu Chunyu, Zang Yize, Gong Li and Wang Xinran bagged a bronze medal, while 18-year-old Wang Ye grabbed another bronze medal for the team in the women's 500 meters.

The team will fly back to Beijing on Monday. 

Short track has become the most popular winter sport in China thanks to China's star-studded squad, which include Olympic champions the Liu brothers and Lin Xiaojun as well as veterans like Ren and female skater Fan Kexin.

The World Cup series will resume in Dresden, Germany in February 2024.