China will establish a men’s hockey team at the Beijing Olympics.
The International Ice Hockey Federation (FIGH) announced on Tuesday that the hosts had been given the green light following a board meeting in Zurich.
“The council confirmed that it will uphold the decision taken at the 2018 FIHG congress to grant the China’s national men’s team a qualifying place as a host country at the 2022 Beijing Olympics,” said indicated the federation in a brief press release.
China will open the tournament on February 10 against the United States before playing against Germany on February 12 and Canada the next day to conclude the round robin in Group A.
NHL players are expected to compete in the Beijing Games after skipping the 2018 event in South Korea, but the league could still pull out due to COVID-19 risks.
The FIHG has already acknowledged that it has concerns about China’s competitiveness, but President Luc Tardif said last month that the federation would not withdraw the team from the Olympics.
He then appeared to change his mind a few weeks later, telling reporters that the FIHG and the International Olympic Committee should look into the matter. He added that Norway could take his place.
The Kunlun Red Star team of the Continental Hockey League (KHL) serves as a platform for the Chinese national team and is used as a barometer for international leaders to assess the Chinese club’s level of competitiveness.
Most of the team’s players were born in North America but obtained Chinese citizenship.
The team are 9-27-22 this season in the Russian-based league.
China has never participated in an Olympic men’s hockey tournament before, but secures an automatic berth for 2022 as host of the tournament.
The country recently played in the fourth highest division of the 2019 FIHG World Championships, before naturalizing foreign-born players.