Lausanne, Switzerland, January 15, 2020: Korea and Hong Kong-China celebrated gold medals in the ice hockey mixed NOC 3-on-3 team events at the Winter Youth Olympic Games on Wednesday. There were also medals for Chinese Taipei (2), Japan (2) and China.
Each team had 13 players – all from different National Olympic Committees – and competitions were held for women and for men over six days from January 10-15.
The winning Yellow team in the women’s event included Korea’s Shin Seoyoon, 15, from Gangwon province – host of the next Winter YOG in 2024. Shin had already tasted success by winning the 2019 Under 15 Korea Ice Hockey Association Cup – and added Winter YOG gold to her collection.
The winning men’s Green team included 14-year-old Yam Yau from Hong Kong, China. Another member of the Hong Kong delegation, Elvis Hsu Chuo Xi, picked up a bronze medal in the Brown team.
“My dream is to play at the Winter Olympics in 3-on-3, so I really hope it continues to grow,” said Yam.
“We were very nervous before the game but we just followed our flow and we won. It feels amazing to get Hong Kong’s first winter medals.”
International Ice Hockey Federation President Rene Fasel (SUI) is open to the idea of 3-on-3 possibly stepping up to the Olympic Winter Games.
“It’s the first time we did this kind of tournament and it’s been a big surprise,” said Fasel. “I am a rather old guy and maybe quite conservative.
“But we would like to have 3-on-3 at the next Winter YOG in Gangwon in 2024. When I speak with my people in the federation there are some that are very enthusiastic about having it at senior level. We should not be against an evolution of our sport, like basketball has done. It is a lot of fun.”
The full list of Asian NOC medal winners from the mixed NOC 3-on-3 ice hockey competition is:
Women
Gold: Shin Seoyoon (Korea)
Silver: Zhang Xinyue (China), Chang En-Ni (Chinese Taipei) and Reina Sato (Japan).
Bronze: Yuna Kusama (Japan)
Men
Gold: Yam Yau (Hong Kong, China)
Silver: Lin Wei-Yu (Chinese Taipei)
Bronze: Elvis Hsu Chuo Xi (Hong Kong, China)