Smooth pass for Team China

China's vision of a historic 2022 Winter Olympics got a big boost on Thursday when the International Ice Hockey Federation voted to allow the host to enter its men's and women's teams in the Beijing tournament.

The IIHF vote took place during the ongoing world championships in Copenhagen, Denmark, and was announced by Rene Fasel, president of the global sanctioning body.

The direct pass means China won't be required to go through the challenging qualification process to send its world No 20 women's and No 33 men's national squads to the Games.