The status of host country for the next Winter Games, which will begin on February 4, offers China automatic qualification, as in almost every major competition.
But there can be a catch when this country is below the required level.
Ranked 32nd in the world, the Chinese men's hockey team, which has not played a match since 2019 and which will face the Canadian and American professionals, was threatened just a month ago.
At the end of a three-day meeting, the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) issued a press release putting an end to the questions: “The status of the men's national team as a host nation participating in the tournament Olympic ice hockey has been confirmed by Congress (of the IIHF) and remains unchanged.
To be clear, the IIHF will not remove the Chinese team from the Olympics ”.
It's just 💯 days left until the biggest event of the upcoming winter and the # Beijing2022 #Olympics will include a record number of 22 ice hockey teams!
🏒🥅😍 #StrongerTogether
Read more about #icehockey in @ Beijing2022: https://t.co/lAJwDabQQL pic.twitter.com/8utZS2IojG
- IIHF (@IIHFHockey) October 27, 2021
"Seeing a team beaten 15-0 is not good for anyone, neither for China, nor for ice hockey," nevertheless confided to AFP Luc Tardif, of the International Ice Hockey Federation ( IIHF), last September.
The IIHF said it is working with the Chinese federation to organize two matches "in a common effort to assess the team's readiness."
