Beijing, China, March 10, 2022: The Paralympic Winter Games Para ice hockey tournament will see two Asian teams in the semi-finals for the first time in history after hosts China and Korea booked their places in the medal rounds of Beijing 2022 on Wednesday, March 9.
And they did it in different styles.
China and Czech Republic clashed in the best game of the tournament so far, with two goals from Wang Zhidong helping the hosts defeat the Czechs 4-3.
It was a fast, furious and physical qualifying match, sending a noisy home crowd off into the night dreaming of glory and a semi-final against four-time gold medallists USA.
With a fourth straight victory in the qualifying rounds, belief is growing among players, rivals and fans that Paralympic debutants China can do something special at the National Indoor Stadium.
Focus now turns to Friday’s semi-final against the USA, a team that has won every major trophy since 2017. But not even the USA’s formidable record and reputation seems to worry leading scorer Shen Yifeng (six goals, four assists), who says his team is “young and confident”.
Shen, 23, said: “The reason we have progressed so fast is that we are very diligent. And we have the very best coaching team.”
In the other qualifying match on Wednesday - a rematch of the bronze medal game at PyeongChang 2018 - Korea triumphed, beating a spirited Italy 4-0.
The Koreans, bronze medallists four years ago, will now face Canada in the other semi-final, a team they have never beaten before.
Jang Dong Shin scored twice with Jung Seung Hwan and Lee Jong Kyung adding one goal each.
“I’m so excited that we won. We always considered Italy a strong team, having met them in the bronze medal match in PyeongChang 2018,” said Jang.