Korea on Verge of Relegation at Ice Hockey Worlds

By Kim Hyun-cheol

Staff Reporter

Korean hockey players wrote a new chapter last month as Anyang Halla gave the country its first ever championship title in the Asia Ice Hockey League. The national team, however, is now in danger of stepping down in world groups at the ongoing World Championship.

South Korea failed to add a win in the Division I Group B tournament on Wednesday, losing 8-3 to Slovakia in Ljubljana, Slovenia. Park Woo-sang, Kim Woo-hae and Ahn Hyun-min scored but it was not enough to brush off the Eastern Europeans.

After allowing three goals in a row in the first 20 minutes, Kim Hee-woo's squad worked hard to comeback in the second period, with Kim and Park scoring in the 20th and 34th minutes, respectively.

However, that was as close as things got. The Koreans allowed three consecutive goals to push the margin out of reach.

With only one game left, South Korea is now 0-4 in the tournament, which features six countries. An additional loss to Croatia in its last game on Friday would send the Asians back to Division II, only one year after it ascended to Division I.

It is a crucial match for both countries, after Croatia remained winless after a 6-0 smashing from Poland on the same day.

South Korea is currently ranked 33rd in the world by the International Ice Hockey Federation, out of 48 countries. It's the second highest-ranked Asian country trailing Japan, which is 21st.

Earlier this year, the country celebrated its biggest achievement in the sport in the miraculous run by Anyang Halla. They became the first non-Japanese club champion of the Asian league since its foundation in 2003, in a nail-biting final series against defending champions Nippon Paper Cranes.