People's Republic of China set for a number of firsts in Beijing 2022 Para ice hockey tournament

When Yu Jing takes to the rink at the Beijing 2022 Winter Paralympics, she will have the unique distinction as the only female in the Para ice hockey tournament at this year's showpiece.

The Chinese athlete joins an exclusive club to achieve this feat, becoming only the third female Para ice hockey player to participate in the Paralympic Winter Games. Yu follows in the footsteps of Norway's Brit Mjaasund Oeyen at Lillehammer 1994 and Lena Schroeder at PyeongChang 2018.

Although Para ice hockey is a mixed-gender event, male players have traditionally dominated teams, except for these three women who broke the mould.

Norway's Brit Mjaasund Oeyen broke new ground for female participation in the sport when she became the first woman to mix it up with the men in the sledge ice hockey at the Winter Paralympics at Lillehammer 1994. Norway won the silver medal in their 1-0 overtime defeat to Sweden in the final.

Twenty-four years later, Lena Schroeder emulated her countrywoman featuring in the Norwegian national team in PyeongChang 2018.

Yu will be the first non-Norwegian female to compete in the Para ice hockey at the Winter Games, which coincides with China's historic first appearance in the tournament. 

The 28-year-old forward did not take to the ice in her team's opening clash against fellow debutants Slovakia. China made a dream start to their campaign in the seven-team tournament with a runaway 7-0 victory in their Group-B clash. 

Star forward Shen Yifeng lived up to his pre-tournament hype scoring four goals and assisting with another contributing five points to their shutout victory.

China has emerged as an emerging power of Para ice hockey over the last few years, earning promotion into the A Pool for the 2022/2023 season after going undefeated at the B-Pool World Championships in 2021. Shen bowed out of that tournament as the best forward, scoring 14 and assisting for 12 goals.