Hong Kong officials have demanded action after players from the Turkmenistan team assaulted the Hong Kong men’s ice hockey team members. The shocking attack followed Hong Kong’s 5-1 win over Turkmenistan on Sunday at the Asian Winter Games in Harbin, China.
In a statement, the Sports Federation and Olympic Committee of Hong Kong, China (SF&OC), said it “strongly condemned” the incident at the end of the Group C clash at Harbin Ice Hockey Arena.
The game was a bad-tempered affair. Teams served out an hour’s worth of penalties between them for offences including elbowing, tripping, slashing and unsportsmanlike conduct, which spilled over at the postgame handshakes.
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Turkmenistan trio Erkin Kakabayev, Arslan Geldimyradov and Begench Dovletmyradov attacked several Hong Kong players for a few minutes before order was restored.
While Hong Kong said no one was badly hurt, two unnamed players needed to be taken to the hospital for assessment. Officials condemned the “deliberate attack and injury [caused] by Turkmen athletes”.
In a statement, the SF&OC said the head of the Hong Kong delegation to the Games, Ho Kit-fung, had contacted the International Ice Hockey Federation and Olympic Council of Asia to demand disciplinary action: “Hong Kong has asked the organising committee to impose necessary punishment.
Referees gave five-minute major and 20-minute game misconduct penalties to Kakabayev, Geldimyradov and Dovletmyradov. Kakabayev had already served an in-game penalty for slashing and Dovletmyradov one for elbowing.
No Hong Kong players retaliated. The SF&OC said it was proud of the team for “showing restraint and upholding the Olympic spirit during the incident”.
Hong Kong is back on the ice on Monday, taking on Kyrgyzstan in the quarter-finals ranking round.
