Gangneung, Korea, January 25, 2024: The super slick and lightning quick Hungarians proved to be a bridge too far for host nation Korea in the final of the women’s 3-on-3 ice hockey competition at the Winter Youth Olympic Games on Thursday.
Hungary dominated Korea from the start and eventually won 10-2 to take the gold medals. Korea settled for silver and China took the bronze after their defeat of Italy earlier in the day in the play off for third place.
In the men’s event, Latvia beat Denmark 10-3 in the final and Kazakhstan went home with the bronze medals after hanging on to defeat Austria 6-5 in the third-place play-off.
A big crowd flocked to the Gangneung Hockey Centre to cheer on their women’s team, and stuck with them until the very end as Hungary won the three periods 2-0, 5-1 and 3-1 to seal the gold medals. The 10-2 defeat represented a big improvement for Korea, as they had lost 16-0 to the same team in the preliminary round.
Korea’s captain, Park Juyeon, said she was very proud of the team for winning the silver medal.
“We knew it was going to be a difficult game after losing to Hungary earlier in the competition but we were determined to play well for all the spectators who came to cheer us,” she said.
“It was the biggest crowd I have ever played in front of in my life and we wanted to do better than the first game. It was very inspiring to play in front of so many spectators and I would like to thank them for cheering right to the end.”
Despite the full-blooded challenges and high-energy skating on the ice, the friendship and the camaraderie between the players and teams really shone through as they took part in social media activities on their way to the locker room.
“Playing here at the Winter Youth Olympic Games has been a great experience,” added captain Park. “I have learned so much from the players of the other countries, not only about hockey skills but also about friendship. I have grown as a hockey player and as a person during the Winter YOG.”
*The two play-offs for third and fourth place took place earlier in the day, and the bronze medals were won by Kazakhstan (men) and by China (women).
Kazakhstan beat Austria 6-5 thanks to a strong first period, after which they led 4-1, while China fought back from 7-5 down in the third period to beat Italy 8-7 on a penalty shot by captain Anna Zhang after the third period had ended 7-7.
“We are all so excited because before China only got fourth place in the Olympic Games and now we are the third, so this is new history and we are all excited now,” said defense player Li Xinyi.
Li said the coach had stressed strong defence ahead of offence, and this has laid the foundations for victory.
Regarding the tense penalty shot at the end of the third period, Li added: “This was our captain and we all think she can go. We were excited but a little bit nervous.”
The successful conversion by Zhang meant there would be no shootout, as the captain was buried under her jubilant teammates as China took bronze.
Kazakhstan led Austria 4-1 after the first period and 5-3 after the second and hung on to win 6-5 – a result that was celebrated by a large contingent of Kazakhs living in Korea.
Kazakh defenseman Arman Tolen said: “This is a great experience for me and my team. I think we were a bit tired in the second and third period and scored one or two goals. Thank you to the people who came to support us. It was an amazing feeling.”