(Beijing) The women’s hockey match between Canada and the Olympic Committee of Russia was delayed for several long minutes, in some confusion, while the Canadian players remained in the locker room.
Posted at 12:19 a.m.
The match finally got under way an hour later than planned, but with each player wearing a mask behind the helmet grid. No official explanation has yet been provided.
What we know: the players trained without a mask, then returned to the locker room. The Russians came back for the start of the match, but not the Canadians.
The Russian players were introduced and they were side by side on the blue line of the Wukesong Sports Center when Canada’s head coach, Troy Ryan, walked behind his team’s bench to chat with the referees. There was no immediate explanation for the delay.
The Russians skated on the ice and sat for 40 minutes before returning to their locker room.
Six Russian players, including captain Olga Sosina, have been placed in solitary confinement and unable to play in the tournament due to testing positive for COVID-19.
The Russian women’s hockey team isolated itself in the Olympic Village from January 31 to February 2 due to the outbreak.