Hong Kong needs cross-border challenge for ice hockey teams to get better, official says
Vice-president of sport’s world governing body says standards could improve rapidly if city’s players had exposure to better competition
Hong Kong should consider entering a team in the Chinese Ice Hockey League if it is serious about growing the sport in the city, one of the game’s top officials has said.
With several world championships being staged across Hong Kong this month and next, Aivaz Omorkanov, the International Ice Hockey Federation’s vice-president for Asia and Oceania, told the South China Morning Post exposure to a higher level of competition could improve the standard rapidly.
In an interview during a brief stop in the city for the under-18 Men’s Division III, Group A tournament in Discovery Bay, Omorkanov also said his organisation had to adapt to attract the next generation of players and fans.
“If Hong Kong can work closely with the Chinese Ice Hockey Association, maybe even create a cross-border league or have one club participate there, it would help a lot,” Omorkanov said. “China plays at a higher level globally and that exposure could raise Hong Kong’s standard very quickly.”
Omorkanov pointed to other successful regional partnerships as examples: the Japan-Korea Asian League, which has produced teams competing at Division I level in the world, and a new Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan cross-border competition that has already improved standards.
Hong Kong’s men and women play in Group B of divisions three and two, respectively, and the city will stage those World Championships from March 30 to April 19.