China’s struggling ice hockey team confirmed for Beijing Olympics

China’s men’s ice hockey team will compete at their home Winter Olympics at Beijing 2022, the sport’s governing body confirmed Tuesday, having once threatened exclusion over the hosts’ “insufficient sporting standard”.

China have an automatic place at February’s Games as hosts, but there are fears that they could face embarrassment with matches in their group against NHL-packed rosters from the United States and Canada.

But Luc Tardif, the new president of the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF), said the body’s council had discussed the status of the Chinese team.

“The council confirmed that it will uphold the decision by the 2018 IIHF Congress to grant the Chinese men’s national team a host qualification position in the 2022 Olympic Games,” Tardif told AFP.

China’s men, who will also face fifth-ranked Germany at the Games, are 32nd the world rankings.

The Beijing Winter Olympics begin on February 4.