SHANGHAI, China — They came close to being kicked out of their own Games, before risking humiliation in front of the NHL stars, but the Chinese will do well in the Beijing Olympics hockey tournament and possibly escape three routs in as many matches.

Even before the first puck slides on the Beijing Olympic rink, the national team, made up of players born in China and abroad, will have gone through a series of difficult ups and downs.

The latest twist dates back to last month, when the NHL finally decided that its players would not go to Beijing so as not to compromise its schedule disrupted by the resumption of the pandemic.

Bad news for the 2022 Olympics and hockey fans, but a relief for the Chinese who occupy a modest 32nd place in the world rankings: they will face in the formidable Group A Germany, Canada and the United States, without their best NHL players.

“It’s good for the Chinese, who may have better results,” observes Li Longmou, who will commentate the hockey tournament for national television CCTV.

Bottom of ranking

Fielding a national team worthy of the name remains an ambitious goal for China, which is lagging behind in winter sports and has invested little in hockey, as it has been able to do in sports such as basketball. or soccer.

The awarding of the Winter Games in 2015 signaled a wake-up call: a professional team was created and authorized to play in the KHL.

To strengthen the selection, the team, called the Kunlun Red Star, went to North America to recruit hockey players of Chinese origin.

Several of them, including Jake Chelios, son of former NHL defender Chris Chelios, will play at the Beijing Olympics.

But performance is lagging behind: Since 2016, the team has finished bottom of the table every season and even last in the Eastern Conference in 2020-21 with a record of 13 wins in 60 matches .

“Good for anyone”

The disappointments of Chinese hockey players led the International Federation last September to threaten the host country with exclusion for “insufficient sporting level”.

The host country is in principle automatically qualified, but “seeing a team be beaten 15-0 is not good for anyone, neither for China nor for ice hockey”, confided to AFP at the time. Luc Tardif, the president of the Federation.

At the beginning of November, the International Federation finally announced that the team could participate in “its” Olympics.

Second good news a month later with the announcement of the absence of NHL stars, such as Connor McDavid, Sidney Crosby and other Alex Ovechkin.

This “radically reshuffles the cards,” observes Mark Dreyer, a sports expert in China. China will certainly struggle to achieve a victory, “but the scores will not be as bad for them as one might have feared”.

Beijing is counting on the 2022 Games to root the culture of winter sports in the country. For Li Longmou, a decent performance by the national team could help popularize hockey.

For many Chinese, “interest in a sport depends on the results of the national team”, he said, adding that most fans do not care if foreigners make up a good part of the national team. ‘effective.

For now, only 5,000 young people play hockey regularly in China, estimates Li Longmou, but their number is growing.

“The growth of ice hockey is definitely going in the right direction.”