Feb 10, 2010
Vancouver (AFP) - The Year of the Tiger is just days away and the Chinese women's hockey team is hoping to make some noise at the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games.
"This is the Year of the Tiger, which is good luck and we maybe will put a lucky tiger charm somewhere on us that day," said Chinese forward Sun Rai, referring to February 14 when the Lunar New Year starts.
The Chinese team feels they are hitting form just in time for the hockey tournament which begins Saturday.
A close 4-2 loss to reigning Olympic silver medallist Sweden last weekend and 15 victories during a recent exhibition schedule against Canadian teams has fuelled hopes that they are getting closer to returning to the glory days of the 1990s.
"It was a good result for us," their Finnish coach Juhani Hannu said of the Sweden game.
"It was our best game. The first period was dominated by Sweden but we did well in the second and third periods. It gave our players confidence."
China enjoyed their best success in the 1990s, finishing fourth at the 1998 Olympic Games after a pair of fourth place finishes at the 1994 and 1997 Worlds. But their programme hit the skids for several years and they failed to qualify for the Torino 2006 Olympic Winter Games and then reached a low in 2009 by placing ninth at the Worlds.
The loss relegated them to division one status for the 2011 World Championships.
Their best player in the 1990s was goaltender Guo Hong who was known as the "Great Wall". They are no longer as strong on the backend without her, but they have a capable netminder in 22-year-old Shi Yao.
"We have a good team and we are excited about these Olympics," said Sun.
China's first game is Sunday against the reigning world champion Team USA.
Sun said Canada and USA would continue to dominate the women's game at these Olympic Games and that China would be fighting with Russia, Switzerland and Slovakia for the lower places.
Sun, who took up hockey at age seven by playing on the outdoor ponds in her hometown, has competed in three Worlds and played one season in Canada (2007) for the Edmonton Chimos before returning to China.
China may have a population of 1.3 billion people but there are just 166 registered female hockey players. The women's game is growing in Asia but with so few female players it means China have to travel to Europe or North America to play games.
The forwards here are led by Sun and captain Wang Linuo who also spent a season playing in Canada.
Wang, 30, says the Chinese government is finally starting to provide them with the financial support needed to stay competitive.
"Even though we play at a higher level than the men it is still tough to get people to support the women's game," Wang said. "People in China think it is too physical and too rough for girls. "But I think the situation is improving with women's hockey in China."
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