BEIJING, April 16 (Xinhua) -- Yu Baiwei, captain of the Chinese women's ice hockey team, said the confidence gained from the Beijing Winter Olympics helped them return to the Division 1 Group A with maximum fice wins after an 11-year absence.
China secured a spot of the Division 1 Group A after beating Poland 7-2 on Thursday to top in Group B. China also beat South Korea, Italy, Slovenia and Kazakhstan to advance.
At the Beijing Winter Olympics not long ago, China defeated strong teams Denmark and Japan.
"Every opponent during the Winter Olympics was tough," Yu said. "But we came all out in every game and gained a lot of confidence."
During the World Championship held in Poland on April 8-14, China lost some key players due to injures, but still performed admirably.
"Everyone trusted each other. We have lots of improvement on fast-breaks and the chemistry makes the game easy and smooth. We enjoyed the tournament," Yu said.
China had been in the Top Division of the Ice Hockey Women's World Championships for a long time and finished fourth twice, but it was relegated from the Top Division in 2009 and then from Division 1 Group A in 2011.
"We are in the next Winter Olympic cycle," Yu said. "The closest tournament is the World Championship next year, where we will play some teams we haven't met in a long time."
"It was fantastic to see everyone succeed and gain confidence as a result of their efforts. Every time the national anthem is played at the end of a game, it feels like a 'baptism' to us and motivates us to keep going," she added. ■
