The Chinese women's national ice hockey team (simplified Chinese : 中国国家女子冰球队 ; traditional Chinese : 中國國家女子冰球隊 ; pinyin : Zhōngguó Guójiā Nǚzǐ Bīngqiú Duì ) represents China at the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) World Women's Championships , the Asian Winter Games , and other international competitions. The women's national team is governed by the Chinese Ice Hockey Association . China's national women's program is ranked twentieth in the world by the IIHF and has 808 active players as of 2020.[ 2]
History
China reached their hey day of women's hockey in the mid-90s when they finished as high as 4th place mostly thanks to the "Great Wall of China" goaltender, Guo Hong , who is now retired. China had 174 women's ice hockey players in 2011.[ 3]
Motivated to gain exposure to a more challenging level of competition, the Chinese national team competed in the Naisten SM-sarja , the premier women's league in Finland , for thirteen games in the 2005–06 season and for twelve games in the 2006–07 season.[ 4] [ 5]
2022 Winter Olympics
In 2022, China competed in the 2022 Winter Olympics as the host nation. Going into the tournament, they relied heavily on the development of players on the Vanke Rays team and were seen as having a real chance at making the quarterfinals.[ 6] [ 7] They lost their opening game to Czech Republic , before defeating the lowest ranked qualifier, Denmark , and Japan in a shootout which was enough for Japan to clinch a playoff berth. Going into their last game against Sweden , a point would have been enough to secure a quarterfinal berth, but after taking the lead, the Chinese lost 2–1 against the Swedes. They were formally eliminated after Sweden beat Denmark in the last game of Group B.
World Championships
Only two months after the Winter Olympics , they played in the 2022 IIHF Women's World Championship Division IB in Katowice , Poland . They ended up dominating the competition, scoring 38 goals in the group to secure promotion to the 2023 IIHF Women's World Championship Division IA . In November 2022, they were given the hosting rights to the group. Nine months later, they would end up winning the Division IA tournament and be promoted to the 2024 IIHF Women's World Championship after defeating Austria 2–0 in Shenzhen . This will be China's first appearance in the top tier since 2009 .
Tournament record
Olympic Games
The Chinese women's ice hockey team huddles before their game against Russia at the 2010 Winter Olympics .
1998 – Finished in 4th place
2002 – Finished in 7th place
2010 – Finished in 7th place
2022 – Finished in 9th place
World Championship
1992 – Finished in 5th place
1994 – Finished in 4th place
1997 – Finished in 4th place
1999 – Finished in 5th place
2000 – Finished in 6th place
2001 – Finished in 6th place
2003 – No result, the competition was cancelled due to SARS epidemic
2004 – Finished in 7th place
2005 – Finished in 6th place
2007 – Finished in 6th place
2008 – Finished in 8th place
2009 – Finished in 9th place (relegated to Division I)
2011 – Finished in 13th place (5th in Division I, relegated to Division IB)
2012 – Finished in 16th place (2nd in Division IB)
2013 – Finished in 18th place (4th in Division IB)
2014 – Finished in 16th place (2nd in Division IB)
2015 – Finished in 17th place (3rd in Division IB)
2016 – Finished in 19th place (5th in Division IB)
2017 – Finished in 18th place (4th in Division IB)
2018 – Finished in 20th place (5th in Division IB)
2019 – Finished in 20th place (4th in Division IB)
2020 – Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic [ 8]
2021 – Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic[ 9]
2022 – Finished in 16th place (1st in Division IB, promoted to Division IA)
2023 – Finished in 11th place (1st in Division IA, promoted to World Championship)
2024 – Finished in 9th place (relegated to Division I)
Asian Games
IIHF Challenge Cup of Asia
Pacific Rim Championship
Team
Current roster
The roster for the 2024 IIHF Women's World Championship .[ 10]
Head coach: Scott Spencer
No.
Pos.
Name
Height
Weight
Birthdate
Team
2
D
Yu Baiwei – C
1.66 m (5 ft 5 in)
66 kg (146 lb)
(1988-07-17 ) 17 July 1988 (age 36)
Kunlun Red Star
7
F
Zhang Mengying – A
1.70 m (5 ft 7 in)
68 kg (150 lb)
(1993-12-22 ) 22 December 1993 (age 30)
Beijing
9
F
Kong Minghui
1.65 m (5 ft 5 in)
56 kg (123 lb)
(1992-04-21 ) 21 April 1992 (age 32)
Harbin
10
F
Wu Sijia
1.66 m (5 ft 5 in)
55 kg (121 lb)
(2007-05-19 ) 19 May 2007 (age 17)
Beijing
12
D
Tian Yuwei
1.67 m (5 ft 6 in)
65 kg (143 lb)
(2004-05-18 ) 18 May 2004 (age 20)
Harbin
13
D
Zhao Qinan – A
1.71 m (5 ft 7 in)
60 kg (130 lb)
(1997-08-29 ) 29 August 1997 (age 27)
Kunlun Red Star
19
D
Du Sijia
1.66 m (5 ft 5 in)
58 kg (128 lb)
(2002-08-07 ) 7 August 2002 (age 22)
Beijing
21
D
Liu Siyang
1.68 m (5 ft 6 in)
63 kg (139 lb)
(1995-12-21 ) 21 December 1995 (age 28)
Qiqihar
22
F
Meng Fangcong
1.65 m (5 ft 5 in)
57 kg (126 lb)
(2007-05-05 ) 5 May 2007 (age 17)
Sichuan
23
F
Fang Xin
1.70 m (5 ft 7 in)
57 kg (126 lb)
(1994-05-10 ) 10 May 1994 (age 30)
Kunlun Red Star
24
F
Wang Jiaxin
1.63 m (5 ft 4 in)
56 kg (123 lb)
(2006-03-01 ) 1 March 2006 (age 18)
Sichuan
25
G
Wei Xueqin
1.66 m (5 ft 5 in)
62 kg (137 lb)
(2000-09-10 ) 10 September 2000 (age 24)
Sichuan
26
F
Guan Yingying
1.66 m (5 ft 5 in)
62 kg (137 lb)
(1995-09-13 ) 13 September 1995 (age 29)
Qiqihar
28
F
Yang Jinglei
1.72 m (5 ft 8 in)
62 kg (137 lb)
(2005-07-28 ) 28 July 2005 (age 19)
Harbin
29
G
Zhan Jiahui
1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)
75 kg (165 lb)
(2006-04-04 ) 4 April 2006 (age 18)
Hill-Murray School
30
G
Wang Yuqing
1.69 m (5 ft 7 in)
58 kg (128 lb)
(1994-05-06 ) 6 May 1994 (age 30)
Kunlun Red Star
66
F
Li Qianhua
1.65 m (5 ft 5 in)
65 kg (143 lb)
(2002-06-06 ) 6 June 2002 (age 22)
Hebei
86
F
Zhao Ziyu
1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)
60 kg (130 lb)
(2007-05-16 ) 16 May 2007 (age 17)
Sichuan
87
F
Wang Yifan
1.72 m (5 ft 8 in)
60 kg (130 lb)
(2008-03-21 ) 21 March 2008 (age 16)
Sichuan
93
D
Liu Zhixin
1.79 m (5 ft 10 in)
78 kg (172 lb)
(1993-04-25 ) 25 April 1993 (age 31)
Kunlun Red Star
94
F
Wen Lu
1.60 m (5 ft 3 in)
58 kg (128 lb)
(1994-04-21 ) 21 April 1994 (age 30)
Kunlun Red Star
97
F
Qu Yue
1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)
65 kg (143 lb)
(2004-01-08 ) 8 January 2004 (age 20)
Harbin
98
F
Zhu Rui
1.62 m (5 ft 4 in)
58 kg (128 lb)
(1998-04-23 ) 23 April 1998 (age 26)
Kunlun Red Star
Head coaches
Yu Zaizhou , –1995
Yao Naifeng , 1995–1999
Zhang Zhinan , 1999–2000
Yao Naifeng, 2000–2003
Jan Votruba , 2003–2004
Paul Strople , 2004–2005
Ryan Stone , 2005–2006
Jorma Siitarinen , 2006–2007
Steve Carlyle , 2007–2008
Paul Strople, 2008–2009
Hannu Saintula [fi ] , 2009–2011
Mikhail Chekanov , 2011–2012
Wang Jingang , 2012
Zhang Zhinan, 2013
Wang Jingang, 2013–2015
Rick Seeley, 2015–2019
Brian Idalski , 2019–2022
Scott Spencer, 2023–
Players
Notable players
Individual all-time records
Still active players are highlighted
Note: World Championships (excluding Division I) and Olympics only
All-time record against other nations
Last match update: 11 March 2022 [ 12]
Key
Positive balance (more Wins)
Neutral balance (Wins = Losses)
Negative balance (more Losses)
Notables
Matches
First match
20 April 1992: 1992 IIHF Women's World Championship in Tampere , Finland . Canada 8–0 China
Largest victory
28 January 2003: 2003 Asian Winter Games in Misawa , Japan . China 30–1 South Korea
Largest defeat
3 April 2001: 2001 Women's World Ice Hockey Championships in Minnesota , United States . United States 13–0 China
Most goals for
28 January 2003: 2003 Asian Winter Games in Misawa , Japan . China 30–1 South Korea
Most goals against
15 April 1994: 1994 IIHF Women's World Championship in Lake Placid , United States . United States 14–3 China
First shutout for
8 April 1995: 1995 Pacific Rim Championships in San Jose , United States . China 5–0 Japan
First shutout against
20 April 1992: 1992 IIHF Women's World Championship in Tampere , Finland . Canada 8–0 China
First shutout tie
5 April 2001: 2001 Women's World Ice Hockey Championships in Minneapolis , United States . China 0–0 Germany
First win
23 April 1992: 1992 IIHF Women's World Championship in Tampere , Finland . China 5–2 Denmark
First loss
20 April 1992: 1992 IIHF Women's World Championship in Tampere , Finland . Canada 8–0 China
First tie
12 April 1994: 1994 IIHF Women's World Championship in Lake Placid , United States . China 4–4 Sweden
Highest scoring tie
16 February 2002: 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City , United States . China 5–5 Germany
Lowest scoring tie
5 April 2001: 2001 Women's World Ice Hockey Championships in Minneapolis , United States . China 0–0 Germany
Rankings
First IIHF World Ranking
7th (2003 )
Highest IIHF World Ranking
7th (2005, 2006, 2009, 2010)
Lowest world ranking
13th (2012)
First Olympic qualification attempt
1998 Winter Olympics
First Olympic qualification
1998 Winter Olympics
Best Olympic finish
4th (1998 Winter Olympics)
Worst Olympic finish
Did not qualify (2006 Winter Olympics )
First world championship competition
1992
Highest world championship competition finish
4th (1994, 1997)
Lowest world championship competition finish
16th (2012)
See also
References
External links
Africa Americas Asia and Oceania Europe Former teams
* IIHF associate members
** IIHF affiliate members
† IIHF suspended members
N Not an IIHF member