Ice Hockey: Final women's Olympic qualification tournaments set to begin
With Italy, Poland and Republic of Korea emerging victorious from their respective groups in the second round of Olympic pre-qualification, the stage is now set for the final qualification tournaments to determine the last three teams that will complete the women's ice hockey field at Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022.
Ice Hockey
The final stage of the Olympic qualifiers for the women's ice hockey tournament at Beijing 2022 will get underway on Thursday, 11 November as 12 teams battle for the final three spots for the Games in People's Republic of China.
The 12 teams are split into three groups of four teams each, with each group's own 'tournament' taking place in different locations across Europe.
The group winner from each tournament will qualify for the Olympic Winter Games, with the women's ice hockey tournament scheduled to start on 3 February, one day before the Opening Ceremony of the Games.
Olympic ice hockey at Beijing 2022: Top five things to know
Here is everything you need to know about the final round of Olympic qualification for women's ice hockey.
Where and when will the qualification tournaments take place?
The final Olympic qualification tournaments will take place between 11-14 November.
Group games will take place in three separate locations in Europe.
- Group C: Chomutov, Czech Republic
- Group D: Füssen, Germany
- Group E: Luleå, Sweden
What are the groups and teams for the Olympic qualification tournaments?
Group C
Czech Republic / Hungary / Norway / Poland
Group D
Germany / Denmark / Austria / Italy
Group E
Sweden / France / Slovakia / Republic of Korea
Each tournament winner will be ranked by their qualification seeding and will play in Group B at Beijing 2022 as qualifier one, two, or three.
Which teams have already qualified for the ice hockey competition at Beijing 2022?
For the first time in Olympic history, 10 teams will compete in the women's ice hockey tournament at Beijing 2022. Six nations have already qualified for the competition by virtue of occupying the top six positions of the 2020 International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) Women's World Ranking, while People's Republic of China, as hosts, are also guranteed a spot.
Group A: USA / Canada / Finland / ROC / Switzerland
Group B: Japan / People's Republic of China / Qualifier 1 / Qualifier 2 / Qualifier 3
The five teams from Group A and the top three teams from Group B will advance to the quarter-finals, where the competition moves to the knockout phase.