Host's hockey minnows 'can help grow game'

Even with the host facing potentially embarrassing double-digit defeats, the International Ice Hockey Federation has reiterated that Team China's appearance at next year's Winter Olympics will do more good than harm.

With about three months to go before the puck drops at the Beijing Winter Games, the huge gulf in class between the host's 32nd-ranked men's squad and the sport's heavyweights continues to cause concern, with some observers worried that the credibility of the world's top international hockey competition could take a hit.

The IIHF, however, insists that its decision to keep the Chinese team in the Olympic tournament will help promote the sport for the greater good.

"We hope that the Chinese national team's play (at the Olympics) will help grow the ice hockey game within the country and the region," Aivaz Omorkanov, the IIHF's regional vice-president for Asia and Oceania, said on Tuesday in Beijing during an ongoing Olympic test event.

"We will also have some further discussions during the next (IIHF) Council meeting about that. But I think it looks good.

"I hope that after these Winter Olympic Games, we will use the chance to promote ice hockey in China."

Aimed at growing the sport's popularity in China's largely untapped hockey market, the IIHF voted in May 2018 to grant the host automatic berths in the 12-team men's and 10-squad women's tournaments at the 2022 Winter Olympics, which open on Feb 4.

Yet the decision has been questioned ever since due to the host's lack of competitiveness at elite level in one of the world's toughest and fastest team sports.

The Chinese men's side has never qualified for the Olympics while the women's team has missed the past two Games.

In September, new IIHF president Luc Tardif voiced concerns over the matter, revealing that the direct entry granted to the host's men's team could be taken back should the Chinese national program fail to improve its "insufficient sporting standard".

However, after a three-day Council meeting in Zurich, Switzerland last week, the IIHF said that China will retain its place in the men's tournament, citing efforts by the sport's national governing body to toughen its team up in time for the Games.

"To be clear, the IIHF is not going to remove the Chinese team from the Olympic Games, the status of the men's national team as a host nation participant in the Olympic ice hockey tournament was confirmed by Congress and remains unchanged," Tardif said in a statement.

"We are working with the Chinese Ice Hockey Association to confirm their player eligibility according to IIHF rules, and we will continue to assist them as they work toward preparing their team for the Olympic Games."

Drawn in Group A alongside world No 1 Canada, superpower the United States and 2018 Olympic silver-medalist Germany, the Chinese men's squad, currently coached by former Italy manager Ivan Zanatta, will aim to prove it is more than a mere punching bag for its three opponents.

A more competitive force than their male counterparts, China's women reached the semifinals at the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan, but have slipped to 19th in the world rankings after failing to qualify for the past two Games (2014 Sochi and 2018 Pyeongchang).

Even so, the governing body has set them a target of contending for a medal, or at least another semifinal run, at home.

Both teams are now preparing for Beijing 2022 in Russia, with the men's squad competing in the Kontinental Hockey League and the women's side playing in the Russian Women's Hockey League to make up for their lack of international action over the past two years amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

As part of an ongoing evaluation of the Chinese men's team, which comprises several North American-born players of Chinese heritage, the IIHF and CIHA are working on plans to organize two games against KHL clubs next week.

The IIHF Council will then reconvene to discuss the next steps forward to help the team prepare for the Olympics.

Next year's Olympic hockey tournaments will be staged in two venues in downtown Beijing－the National Indoor Stadium and Wukesong Arena－both facilities that were used at the 2008 Summer Games in the capital.

Four local Beijing teams participated in test events at Wukesong Arena from Monday until Wednesday. The same players will continue to compete through Saturday at the NIS, where ice quality, the refrigeration system, event operation, broadcasting, Games services and COVID-19 countermeasures will be tested.

After observing the first event at Wukesong, IIHF vice-president Omorkanov expressed confidence in the host's readiness for the Olympics.

"The main purpose of the test event is to check the venues, to build a good environment, to build good conditions for the players, for the match officials, for the staff, so the Winter Olympic Games will be in perfect condition," said Omorkanov, who at 25 was elected as the IIHF's youngest Council member in September.

"We can clearly see that in general everything is good, but there are some small areas that need to be improved," added the former Kyrgyzstan international.