China players celebrate after defeating Poland in the 2022 IIHF Ice Hockey Women's World Championship Division I Group B in Katowice, Poland on April 14, 2022. (Photo by Marcin Bulanda/Xinhua)
China will be promoted to Group A of Division 1 in the Ice Hockey's Women's World Championship for the first time in 11 years.
WARSAW, April 14 (Xinhua) -- China secured a spot in Group A of Division 1 after beating hosts Poland 7-2 in Katowice on Thursday to win Group B during the 2022 Ice Hockey Women's World Championship.
Before the game, China showed a high quality at the Jantor Arena, beating South Korea, Italy, Slovenia and Kazakhstan in a row, while Poland, also vying for a Group A ticket, noted four consecutive victories, too.
The game, however, was not as tense as expected. China opened in style as Lin Qiqi scored in the first minute, and soon doubled the lead after turning a perfect Yu Baiwei pass into the goal.
Liu Zhixin, Mi Le, Zhang Xifang and Lin Ni also got their names on the scoresheet to help China lead 6-0 after the first period, while Poland could not find a way to stop the team coached by Clayton Beddoes.
After the break, Poland scored twice through Klaudia Chrapek but China still clearly had the game under control.
Yu Baiwei fired an effective shot to make it 7-2 with nearly 10 minutes remaining to wrap up the well-deserved victory for China.
The result means that China will return to Group A of Division for the first time in 11 years. ■
