Team China

China women's hockey team shooting for top-six finish

By Lei Lei (China Daily)
Updated: 2010-02-03 09:45
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China women's hockey team shooting for top-six finish

With less than 200 players to choose from for a national team, Chinese women's ice hockey has struggled for a decade on the international stage.

Returning to the Winter Olympic Games after an eight-year hiatus, the nation's young team is eyeing sixth place at the upcoming Vancouver Winter Olympic Games.

China women's hockey team shooting for top-six finish

"I think we have a good chance to take sixth place. I don't think anything else is realistic at this moment," said Hannu Saintula, head coach of the Chinese team who has worked with the squad for eight months.

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China, who are ranked No 7 in the world, qualified for the Feb 12-28 Winter Games by racking up three straight wins over Norway, Czech Republic and Japan in Nov 2008.

But to achieve a top-six finish, China have to advance from Group B, which features ice hockey powerhouses the US, Finland and Russia.

China women's hockey team shooting for top-six finish

The Finland-born coach has great confidence in his young team which has only three players with Olympic experience.

"The US are world champions and very strong. We just have to play our own game against them. We don't have to think about winning or losing. We have to think about our play. If we perform well, I don't care if we win or lose," said Saintula.

"Finland are also a very strong team and a favorite to play for a medal. It's not easy for us but we have great chance. We have to play very well."

Last spring, China failed to hold their position among the elite teams at the World Championships. That saw the team's Canadian coach, Paul Strople, have his contract terminated.

China women's hockey team shooting for top-six finish

Saintula, who was head coach of the Finland national team for 10 years and helped it win bronze at the 2009 World Championships, took charge and the 52-year-old is now enjoying the challenge of raising China's profile in the sport.

"When I left the Finland national team I wanted to do something different. This is a great challenge for me. I think I can help the team," Saintula said. "The team is pretty good. We have to work very hard but I think the side can play very well in the future. Our game is totally different from what the team played before. We play more with the puck now. I think the girls will play much better in the future."

Although Saintula's team has not been tested on the Olympic stage, his contract has already been extended and he will work with the side until April next year.

"The contract extension is aimed at strengthening teamwork," said Yu Tiande, head of the China's ice hockey. "We want the players to know that regardless of the preparation for the Olympics or future years, they should be confident in themselves. The task for Saintula over the next season is to help the team achieve breakthroughs at the Asian Winter Games and the World Championships."

Chinese women's hockey experienced a golden period from the late 1980s to the mid-1990s, when the national side was always in medal contention at international tournaments. It won the 1996 Asian Games and finished fourth at the 1994 and 1997 World Championships.

The icing on the cake was the team's fourth-place finish at the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano. But a lack of depth and poor training conditions led to a quick decline in the sport.

The team fell to seventh at the Salt Lake City Games in 2002 and missed out on Turin 2006 due to a contentious refereeing decision in qualifying.