Kuwait City, Kuwait, August 19, 2024: The Olympic Council of Asia has announced the teams that have qualified to compete in the men’s and women’s ice hockey competition of the 9th Asian Winter Games in Harbin, China in February 2025.
The list of 12 men’s teams and eight women’s teams is based on the latest rankings of the International Ice Hockey Federation Men’s Teams as per IIHF Ranking: Kazakhstan, Korea, Japan, China, UAE, Chinese Taipei, Thailand, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, Hong Kong China, Singapore and Kuwait Women’s Teams as per IIHF Ranking: Japan, China, Korea, Kazakhstan, Chinese Taipei, Hong Kong China, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (PRK) and Thailand.
IIHF Rankings:
Men's Event
RANK TEAM POINTS MOVEMENT
15 KAZ 3305 0
22 KOR 2875 -1
24 JPN 2770 +1
26 CHN 2675 0
36 UAE 1940 +3
40 TPE 1730 +1
43 THA 1530 +1
45 KGZ 1455 +1
46 TKM 1410 -1
49 HKG 1275 -2
51 SGP 995 0
52 KUW 980 -2
Women's Event
RANK TEAM POINTS MOVEMENT
7 JPN 3775 0
12 CHN 3425 +2
18 KOR 3080 +1
23 KAZ 2795 -1
26 TPE 2550 0
30 HKG 2135 0
42 PRK 1420 +1
45 THA 720 new
The above 12 men's teams and eight women's teams are eligible to participate in the AWG Harbin 2025.
In a circular to the National Olympic Committees, OCA Director General Husain Al Musallam said: “We request you to complete the Entry by Name online registration form. The Games will be conducted under OCA Rules and Regulations, including the OCA player eligibility criteria.
“HAWGOC will communicate the competition format, rules, regulations and other details to you, and you will receive the Technical Handbook in due course.
“If any of the ranked NOC does not wish to participate, the next ranked NOC will be given the chance. Also, the NOCs which withdraw after the Team Draw has been conducted will be penalized by the OCA Executive Board.”
The 9th AWG are set to take place in Harbin, capital of Heilongjiang province in northeast China, from February 7-14, 2025.