Japan and China earned wins to open Olympic Qualification, while the question of Russia's involvement in the 2026 Olympics could change everything.
Japan and China earned wins to open Olympic Qualification, while the question of Russia's involvement in the 2026 Olympics could change everything.
Japan opened their Olympic Qualifier tournament with a dominant 7-1 win over France on home soil.
Makato Ito opened the scoring for Japan only two minutes into the game with her first of two goals on the night, before Yumeka Wajima scored a pair for Japan to close out the opening frame. Japan was dominant from start to finish outshooting France 41-24 in the lopsided win. Remi Koyama, Kanami Seki, and Riri Noro scored the other goals for Japan, while Julia Mesplede had the lone goal for France.
France's top players of Chloe Aurad, Estelle Duvin, and Clara Rozier could not find an offensive spark in the game. In a three game event, a single loss is likely to result in elimination from contention, putting Japan in a strong position, and France on the verge of missing the Olympics.
This would be Japan's fourth straight Winter Olympics.
China Needs A Shootout To Beat Poland
China also got a win to open the Group G Qualification tournament in Japan. The teams traded chances throughout the game with Poland outshooting China 41-36. China has struggled to remain competitive after removing all their dual passport players ahead of the 2024 World Championships.
Jiayi Hu opened the scoring for China before Anna Kot scored for Poland with only four seconds left in the first. After a scoreless second, the teams again traded goals in the third with Xin Fang scoring for China, before Maja Brzezinska tied it again sending the game to overtime. After a winner could not be determined in overtime, the game went to a shootout where Fang was the only player able to score giving China the 3-2 win.
Courts Could Overrule Allowing Russia Entrance
The IIHF recently announced that Russia and Belarus would not be permitted back into IIHF World Championship play in the 2025-26 season. This however, does not apply to the Olympic Games. That decision rests with the IOC and the courts.
Russian representative Pavel Bure stated that he does not believe the IIHF's reasoning of safety concerns, and stated "the IIHF will eventually have to allow Russia to compete in international tournaments. Without Russia, the level of the World Championship has significantly decreased. We will challenge this decision in court and achieve our goal. I would also like to point out that the International Olympic Committee will make the decision regarding Russia’s participation at the 2026 Olympic Games in Milan.”
That decision remains even though Olympic Qualifiers are underway. If Russia is to be suspended from the 2026 Olympics, the IOC will need to hand pick another nation to participate as currently Canada, USA, Switzerland, Finland, Czechia, and Italy are the only qualified nations, and three more will be added for nine teams of the ten team field