Ahead of Beijing 2022, China hopes to have a competitive ice hockey team which will be able to go toe to toe with the world's best on both the men's and women's side. But any side will have a tough time against the USA's ladies who won gold at last year's Olympics. CGTN's Jim Spellman was in Maryland to check in on the PyeongChang Champions.

It's practice time for the Washington Pride. All of these players are fast and tough, and they are all girls. Hannah Humphreys plays goalie.

HANNAH HUMPHREYS WASHINGTON PRIDE GOALTENDER "I love that it's a team game, you get really close with your teammates. I really like that when you are playing hockey you are in gear and you are judged for your skill level and your effort instead of what you look like."

These players were often told they should take up figure skating and leave hockey to men.

HANNAH HUMPHREYS WASHINGTON PRIDE "In seventh grade, the kid I sat next to told me every single day that girls couldn't play hockey. So either I didn't play hockey or I wasn't a girl. Yeah, kept playing. He's in my English class now. Doesn't say anything."

They are part of a growing trend. According to USA Hockey, 55-hundred girls played the sport in 1990. Now it's more than 70-thousand. Adult women's hockey is flourishing, too. At last year's Olympics, Team USA won the gold. That team included Haley Skarupa, a former Pride player who now plays professionally in the National Women's Hockey League, a small start-up with several corporate sponsors, including Dunkin' Donuts. Advertisers like Nike are increasingly targeting women who play sports, like ice hockey, which are traditionally associated with men. Kush Sidhu is head coach of the Pride.

KUSH SIDHU WASHINGTON PRIDE COACH "I think there will be plenty more pro teams down the road. There will be plenty more pro teams internationally. I think at the youth level there will be continuing growth around North America and worldwide."

In places like Kuwait, teams are forming for the first time. In China, more girls are taking to the ice as Beijing prepares to host the 2022 Winter Olympics.

"When did you start playing hockey?"

"I started playing hockey when I was about four years old."

Julia Blitz is known simply as Blitz to her teammates.

JULIA BLITZ WASHINGTON PRIDE FORWARD "It's amazing seeing how the sport has changed over the years. You're given more opportunities. You're given more chances to achieve your goals."

Like most of her teammates, she will play hockey in college and hopes to take her game all the way to Beijing.

"And the Olympics one day?"

"Yes! That's my dream."

These players want to inspire others as they break down barriers.

HANNAH HUMPHREYS WASHINGTON PRIDE GOALTENDER "Women's sports needs to be promoted more and expanded on, and I think that little kids shouldn't be told they can't play a sport just because they're a girl. Girls are just as capable as guys if not better in some ways, sometimes."

To anyone who doubts what these girls are capable of, Blitz has this response. "Watch me play. Watch what I can do." Jim Spellman, CGTN, Rockville, Maryland.