Beijing: The International Ice Hockey Federation is considering excluding China’s men’s hockey team from the 2022 Beijing Olympics, according to New York Times. If China is expelled out of the Olympics, it will be the first time an Olympic host has been kicked out of a hockey event.
IIHF president Luc Tardif stated last month that it’s possible that the Chinese team could be removed from the men’s hockey tournament due to “insufficient sporting standard.”
“This question really arises for the men’s team, not for the women’s team,” Tardif told Agence France-Presse. “There are going to be games for the China team that will be overseen by an IIHF official and a decision will be made afterwards. Watching a team being beaten 15-0 is not good for anyone, not for China, or for ice hockey.”
If China is replaced, Norway, ranked 11th, will most likely take their position in the tournament.
The Chinese squad is typically filled with players from Beijing’s Kunlun Red Star franchise, which competes in the Kontinental Hockey League, which is mostly made up of Russian teams. China is now ranked 32nd in the world by the IIHF, and would face the likes of Canada and the United States in the Olympic tournament’s first round.
This season, the Red Star has won only five of their 22 games, and they are now in last place in the league. In the KHL, the Red Star has surrendered 81 goals while scoring only 48 in those 22 games.
Next week, the IIHF’s board of directors is expected to make a decision on China’s fate. The Beijing Olympics will begin on February 4th.
