photo: © Asian Winter Games
The 9th Asian Winter Games wrapped up on Friday in Harbin, China, with Kazakhstan winning its third straight gold medal on the men’s side and Japan’s women winning gold for the second consecutive event. Both countries finished second in the event they didn’t win.
Kazakhstan’s men also won gold in 1996 and 1999. Japan’s only other women’s gold came at the last Asian Winter Games, in Sapporo, in 2017.
Men’s hockey has been a part of the Games since its first edition in 1986, while the women’s event was added in 1996.
The men’s tournament featured 14 teams divided into three groups (6-4-4). The top eight-ranked teams qualified for the quarter-finals, where Kazakhstan whipped Hong Kong, China, 24-0; China advanced with a 7-2 win over Chinese Taipei; Korea hammered Kyrgyzstan by a 20-0 count; and, Japan beat Thailand, 15-2.
From there, the semi-finals produced two thrillers. The Kazakhs beat China, 3-1 and Japan edged Korea, 4-3, in a penalty-shot shootout. In the first game, after a scoreless first period, Kazakhstan took a 2-0 lead in the second thanks to goals from veteran Roman Starchenko and 28-year-old Dmitriy Grents. Jing Wang scored late in the third to create a dramatic finish, but Dmitriy Breus scored the insurance goal at 19:12 to send the Kazakhs to the gold-medal game.
In the other semi, Korea had leads of 2-0 in the first and 3-1 in the second, but Japan fought back to tie the game on a Shogo Nakajima goal with 1:15 remaining and goalie Yuta Narisawa on the bench for an extra skater. Korea incurred a penalty in the overtime, but in the end the extra ten minutes didn’t decide anything and teams went to a shootout. Japan got goals from Kenta Tagaki and Kento Suzuki, and Narisawa stopped all four Korean shooters.
In the gold-medal game, goalie Andrey Shutov stopped all 13 shots and the Kazakhs scored in every period en route to an impressive 5-0 win. Earlier in the day, Korea beat China, 5-2, to claim the bronze medal.
The women’s tournament featured a much different format. Five teams first played a round robin of four games each—Kazakhstan, Korea, Chinese Taipei, Thailand, and Hong Kong, China. The top two teams, Kazakhstan and Korea, then advanced to another the medal round that also included the top two ranked teams, China and Korea. These four teams then played another round robin of three games each, the top team winning gold, the second place team silver, and the third team bronze.
In the end, Japan finished on top, ahead of Kazakhstan, China, and Korea, in that order. The critical game saw Japan beat Kazakhstan, 4-0, on the first day of the medal round. The winners dominated, outshooting Kazakhstan, 41-7, and giving Riko Kawaguchi an easy shutout. Yumeka Wajima had a goal and assist for the Japanese.
By the same token, Kazakhstan beat China, 2-1, to finish in the higher position and claim silver. In that game, Alexandra Shegay broke a 1-1 tie with a goal at 8:37 of the third. That proved to be the game winner and also the goal that gave the Kazakhs the silver medal.
Sofiya Zubkova of Kazakhstan led the women’s tournament with nine points. Second was Japan’s Rui Ukita (tied, eight), a name familiar to hockey fans as a player who has been a leader on the Japanese women’s national team for a decade.
Kazakhstan’s men also won gold in 1996 and 1999. Japan’s only other women’s gold came at the last Asian Winter Games, in Sapporo, in 2017.
Men’s hockey has been a part of the Games since its first edition in 1986, while the women’s event was added in 1996.
The men’s tournament featured 14 teams divided into three groups (6-4-4). The top eight-ranked teams qualified for the quarter-finals, where Kazakhstan whipped Hong Kong, China, 24-0; China advanced with a 7-2 win over Chinese Taipei; Korea hammered Kyrgyzstan by a 20-0 count; and, Japan beat Thailand, 15-2.
From there, the semi-finals produced two thrillers. The Kazakhs beat China, 3-1 and Japan edged Korea, 4-3, in a penalty-shot shootout. In the first game, after a scoreless first period, Kazakhstan took a 2-0 lead in the second thanks to goals from veteran Roman Starchenko and 28-year-old Dmitriy Grents. Jing Wang scored late in the third to create a dramatic finish, but Dmitriy Breus scored the insurance goal at 19:12 to send the Kazakhs to the gold-medal game.
In the other semi, Korea had leads of 2-0 in the first and 3-1 in the second, but Japan fought back to tie the game on a Shogo Nakajima goal with 1:15 remaining and goalie Yuta Narisawa on the bench for an extra skater. Korea incurred a penalty in the overtime, but in the end the extra ten minutes didn’t decide anything and teams went to a shootout. Japan got goals from Kenta Tagaki and Kento Suzuki, and Narisawa stopped all four Korean shooters.
In the gold-medal game, goalie Andrey Shutov stopped all 13 shots and the Kazakhs scored in every period en route to an impressive 5-0 win. Earlier in the day, Korea beat China, 5-2, to claim the bronze medal.
The women’s tournament featured a much different format. Five teams first played a round robin of four games each—Kazakhstan, Korea, Chinese Taipei, Thailand, and Hong Kong, China. The top two teams, Kazakhstan and Korea, then advanced to another the medal round that also included the top two ranked teams, China and Korea. These four teams then played another round robin of three games each, the top team winning gold, the second place team silver, and the third team bronze.
In the end, Japan finished on top, ahead of Kazakhstan, China, and Korea, in that order. The critical game saw Japan beat Kazakhstan, 4-0, on the first day of the medal round. The winners dominated, outshooting Kazakhstan, 41-7, and giving Riko Kawaguchi an easy shutout. Yumeka Wajima had a goal and assist for the Japanese.
By the same token, Kazakhstan beat China, 2-1, to finish in the higher position and claim silver. In that game, Alexandra Shegay broke a 1-1 tie with a goal at 8:37 of the third. That proved to be the game winner and also the goal that gave the Kazakhs the silver medal.
Sofiya Zubkova of Kazakhstan led the women’s tournament with nine points. Second was Japan’s Rui Ukita (tied, eight), a name familiar to hockey fans as a player who has been a leader on the Japanese women’s national team for a decade.