IIHF Women's World Championship: China won't earn promotion to Division I Group A

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02:54

China's second loss coupled with the Netherlands beating Latvia 3-1 means that the PRC's hopes of being promoted to Division 1 Group A are over. The disappointing result serves to underline the tough task the host nation faces in developing the sport before the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics. Damion Jones has more.

Flying high after opening the Division I Group B Women's World Championship with wins against Latvia and South Korea, losses to the Netherlands and Poland quickly brought China back down to the ice.

In previous years, some of the PRC's core players were sent to the Canadian Women's Hockey League, while competitors of Chinese heritage were drafted overseas. The current squad was finalized two months before the tournament, and while the overall skill level has improved, cohesion and consistency remain elusive.

YU BAIWEI CHINA CAPTAIN "Everyone started improving after we began our training sessions together, but we need more time to start playing as one team."

Disparities in physicality and know-how have been also evident in China's two losses at the Shougang Ice Rink.

HE XIN CHINA FORWARD "We are inexperienced, especially the younger players, as some of them just joined the team this year, so we were caught off-guard by many of the shots by our opponents."

But despite their struggles, the PRC are demonstrating clear improvement, and varying their offensive strategies.

KLAUDIA CHRAPEK POLAND DEFENSEWOMAN "They are fast, and have good shots. I think it's a good progress for the Winter Olympics. They are better for sure."

CHOI JI-YEON SOUTH KOREA FORWARD "I played against China a few times in the past and this current team is more organized."

Nonetheless, this week's performances underscore the challenges China will face at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics.

JAKOB KOELLIKER CHINA COACH "After the tournament, we need to head together, we have to do a program for the next two or three years. That's important because we have lots of work to do."

As the host nation for the Games in three years time, China's women's and men's ice hockey teams will both automatically qualify, but to realize their ultimate goal of posting a respectable showing, the ladies readily acknowledge that they have a lot of work in front of them. Damion Jones, CGTN.