Host nation status gives China automatic qualification for the 2022 Olympics, but the sporting level of its ice hockey team, ranked 32nd in the world, having not played a match since 2019 and facing Canadian professionals and Americans, asked questions. “Seeing a team beat 15-0 is not good for anyone, not for China or for ice hockey”, had confided to AFP Luc Tardif, president of the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF), in September.
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After a three-day IIHF board meeting, Tardif issued a press release ending the questioning. “To be clear, the IIHF will not remove the Chinese team from the Olympics. The status of the men’s national team as a host nation participating in the Olympic ice hockey tournament has been confirmed by the (IIHF) Congress and remains unchanged ”. The IIHF has assured to work with the Chinese federation to organize two matches “In a joint effort to assess the readiness of the team”.
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