Beijing, May 2 (Xinhua) -- The past April was a harvest month for Chinese ice hockey. On April 14, the Chinese women's ice hockey team won the First Division B Group championship in five games at the 2022 World Women's Ice Hockey Championship, returning to The First Division A Group after 11 years. On April 30, the Chinese men's ice hockey team won the championship in four games in The Second Division A of the 2022 World Men's Ice Hockey Championships, returning to the First Division of the World Championships after 15 years.
On April 30, members of the Chinese team celebrated their victory by defeating Spain 4-1 in the fourth match of Group A of the Second Division of the 2022 World Men's Ice Hockey Championships. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Li Xuejun
The Chinese men's and women's ice hockey teams standing on the stage of the World Championships have bid farewell to the Beijing Winter Olympic cycle again with dazzling results, and have also strides towards a new journey of impacting the qualifications for the 2026 Winter Olympics.
Before the men's ice hockey team entered the World Championships, the goal was to win the championship. Although the team last competed in the First Division in 2007, playing against a strong team at the Beijing Winter Olympics raised China's world ranking from 32nd to 27th.
The confidence of the goal of winning the championship comes from the ranking, but also from the experience accumulated in the Winter Olympics, and a more complete lineup based on the original team of the Winter Olympics. Ye Jinguang, Fu Shuai, Wang Taylor and other players who have performed prominently in the Beijing Winter Olympic Games are in a good competitive state before the game, and Zhou Kelin, Shen Jialei and several other players who missed the Winter Olympics due to injury also ushered in the opportunity to play at the World Championships.
In the first match in Zagreb, the capital of Croatia, the Chinese team defeated israel 14:1 and won the opening of the World Championship. In the next three matches, the Chinese team defeated the veteran team Netherlands, the host Croatia and the Spain team with a score of 5:1, 5:1 and 4:1 respectively, winning all four games, achieving the set goal and successfully returning to the World Championship First Division.
Achievements are a reward for hard work and motivation to take it to the next level. Chinese male ice captain Ye Jinguang said after winning the championship that he was very excited and very proud, he and his teammates have been training and playing together for five or six years, and everyone's efforts have been rewarded, but winning the championship is only the first step, and the team has a lot of work to do to qualify for the 2026 Winter Olympics.
Image from the official website of the International Ice Hockey Federation.
Compared with the complete lineup of men's ice, the Chinese women's ice hockey team that participated in the early half month faced the challenge of uneven personnel, and some players had to compete with injuries. However, the players still defeated South Korea, Italy, Slovenia, Kazakhstan and Poland, and successfully won the championship with confidence and style.
The final leg of the World Championship tour, against the host Polish team, is also the most thrilling battle. Before the match, both the Chinese team and the Polish team won four games, keeping the suspense of competing for the place of promotion to Group A until the last minute. Facing an opponent who was also unbeaten, the Chinese team scored 6 goals in the first quarter to establish an advantage, and finally won 7:2, returning to The First Division A Group after an 11-year absence with a total of five wins.
Looking back on this tournament, Yu Baiwei, the chinese women's ice captain, said frankly: "I think we have gained more confidence through the baptism of the Beijing Winter Olympics, and continued to this World Championships, allowing the team to climb to a new level." She also said that compared with the Winter Olympics, the team has greatly improved in technology and tactics, especially in terms of counterattack speed and attack zone coordination.
On April 14, in the final match of Group B of the World Women's Ice Hockey Championships in Poland, Chinese player Lin Qiqi (center) celebrated with her teammates after scoring a goal. Xinhua News Agency (Photo by Marcin Brenda)
Rising up means a bigger stage, as well as more pressure. Chinese women's ice hockey has been in the top group of the women's ice hockey world championships for a long time, and has twice won the fourth place, this time after returning to the first division A group, the Chinese women's ice will compete with stronger opponents, and the pressure and challenge are unprecedented for this group of players.
Yu Baiwei said: "First of all, we will clarify the goal, prepare around the next Winter Olympic cycle, and then run towards this goal to continuously break through every challenge." The closest is next year's World Championships, where we'll play against teams we haven't met in a long time. After that, we will also study the opponent's playing style, and at the same time continuously improve our overall technical and tactical level, and strive to achieve more victories at next year's World Championships. We will continue to move forward for victory! ”
After experiencing the Beijing Winter Olympics and the master moves, as well as the promotion of the world championships, the Chinese men's and women's ice hockey teams have used a good mental outlook and good competitive strength to let people see the hope of The re-emergence of Chinese ice hockey. But the two teams are not on a smooth road to qualify for the 2026 Winter Olympics.
In the Beijing Winter Olympics cycle, with the strong support of all parties, the help of naturalized players joining and the hard work of all team members, the competitive strength of China's men's and women's ice hockey teams has reached a peak of nearly ten years. With the arrival of the new Olympic cycle, how to maintain the integrity of the lineup, continue the competitive state and even further improve, so as to maintain competitiveness in the new world championships and strive to be promoted again, will be the common test and challenge facing these two teams.
Source: Xinhua News Agency