Turkmen hockey players began their campaign at the 9th Asian Winter Games in Harbin, China, with a resounding victory over the Macau team, defeating them 26-0.
The ice hockey tournament, held under the auspices of the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) in Harbin, the capital of Heilongjiang Province in northeast China, brought together 14 teams. These teams were divided into three groups for the preliminary stage. The strongest teams were placed in Group "A," which includes China, Japan, Kazakhstan, South Korea, Thailand and Chinese Taipei. Group "B" features Bahrain, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan and Singapore, while Group "C" includes Hong Kong (China), India, Macau (China) and Turkmenistan.
The winners of Groups "B" and "C" will face each other to determine who advances to the quarterfinals as the 7th and 8th seeds. The remaining teams from these groups will compete for positions 9 through 14 in playoff matches.
The Macau team is not ranked by the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) and has not participated in any World Championships or Olympic Games. However, they have played in the Asian Challenge Cup—a regional tournament for lower-tier hockey nations on the continent. This is Macau's second appearance at the Asian Winter Games; their debut was at the 6th Asian Winter Games in Changchun, China, in 2007, where they finished last (11th place). Their performance at this year’s Games has also been lackluster.
In their first match, Macau suffered a crushing 1-26 defeat against Hong Kong (China). In their second match, they conceded another 26 goals to Turkmenistan without scoring any.
Notably, Turkmenistan's hockey players scored against their opponents in all situations: with a man advantage, at even strength, and even while shorthanded. Ilyas Veliyev and Guvanchmyrat Jepbarov's team scored six goals against Macau in the first period. In the second period, they added five more goals. The third period saw an incredible 15 goals scored by Turkmenistan. For Turkmenistan, Baymyrat Baymyradov achieved a "penta-trick" by scoring five goals. Begench Dovletmyradov scored four goals (a "poker"), while Ahmet Gurbanov, Dovrangeldi Bayjayev, Amangeldi Aganyazov, Arslan Nuryyev, Novruz Baykhanov, and Nazar Orazov each scored two goals. Serdar Durdyyev, Serdar Kakajanov, Arslan Geldimyradov, Musa Annasaparov and Gurbanmyrat Tannyev each contributed one goal.
The Turkmen team at the 9th Asian Winter Games consists of 18 players from the "Galkan" club under the Ministry of Internal Affairs and three players from the "Shir" club under the Ministry of Trade and Foreign Economic Relations.
Turkmenistan's next match will be against India. On the same day as Turkmenistan's victory over Macau, India suffered a devastating 0-30 loss to Hong Kong (China).
After these matches, Hong Kong has six points from two games. Turkmenistan has three points from one game. India (one game) and Macau (two games) have zero points.
Results from Other Groups:
Group "A": Chinese Taipei vs. Japan – 0:15; Thailand vs. Kazakhstan – 0:12; China vs. South Korea – 5:6 (overtime), Japan vs. Thailand – 8:1, South Korea vs. Chinese Taipei – 14:1, Kazakhstan vs. China – 6:1.
Standings in Group "A": Japan and Kazakhstan – 6 points each, South Korea – 5 points, China – 1 point, Thailand and Chinese Taipei – 0 points.
Group "B": Kuwait vs. Kyrgyzstan – 8:9 (overtime); Singapore vs. Bahrain – 20:1; Singapore vs. Kuwait – 3:10, Kyrgyzstan vs. Bahrain – 29:0.
Standings in Group "B": Kyrgyzstan – 5 points; Kuwait – 4 points, Singapore – 3 points, Bahrain – 0 points.
The group stage matches for Groups "B" and "C" will conclude on February 9, while Group "A" matches will finish on February 10.
The quarterfinals are scheduled for February 11. The bronze medal match and final will take place on February 14.
