March 1990 was a busy month for the Chinese national team. First, they competed at the Winter Asian Games in Sapporo, Japan, where they successfully defended their gold medal from 1986. Though they stumbled early with a 6-6 draw against North Korea, they came through when it mattered most, defeating their biggest rival, Japan, 4-2 in the decisive game.
Just two weeks later, the team traveled to another key tournament, the C-Pool World Championship in Hungary. This time, however, China fell short – two losses against lower-ranked opponents, North Korea and Bulgaria, left them stuck in a non-promotional third place. Even a valuable draw against undefeated tournament winner Yugoslavia wasn’t enough to salvage their campaign.
Opportunity for China: B-Pool Expands
The 1991 C-Pool World Championship in Denmark presented China with a rare chance at redemption. Shortly before the tournament, the IIHF decided to expand the top-tier A-Pool from 8 to 12 teams. As a result, four teams from both the B- and C-Pools would earn promotion that year. China edged out most of its opponents in close games and secured a comfortable return to the B-Pool with a second-place finish. It marked the team’s first appearance at that level in five years.
However, the stagnation of ice hockey in China was beginning to show – key national team players were aging, and there was no one to take their place. The B-Pool World Championship proved to be too great a challenge for China. Although they managed to stay at that level for the next three seasons, matchups against stronger opponents made it clear that the game had passed them by.
As early as 1992, at the B-Pool tournament in Austria, China suffered several heavy double-digit defeats – even against Japan, a team they had beaten just two years earlier at the Asian Winter Games.
Their relegation was only avoided due to politics – Slovenia declared independence from the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, taking nearly the entire Yugoslav national hockey team with it. That left a weakened Yugoslav squad, which China had no trouble dispatching in a 4-1 victory.
The Golden Generation Bids Farewell
By this point, the team’s average age had climbed to a staggering 30.05 years. The 1992 World Championship marked the end of an era, as the last active player associated with the legendary ‘Chinese hockey miracle’ of 1981, goaltender Yong Jun Wang, played his final tournament. The last Mohican of the legendary squad appeared in four games, posting an 81.7% save percentage.
It was also the final appearance for long-time national team pillars like Benyu Wang, Yuje Tian, Zhinan Zhang, and Zhenhua Zhang, who had carried the program throughout the 1980s. As if that wasn’t enough farewells, another key figure from the 1981 team, Ke Qiang Wu, stepped down from his role as head coach.
Benyu Wang was a symbolic figure of Chinese hockey during its golden era. He narrowly missed the unforgettable 1981 World Championship, making his debut on the international stage two years later at the 1983 tournament in Hungary. However, from that point on, he became an integral part of the national team for a full decade, appearing in 11 major events. He played twice in the B-Pool World Championship and twice celebrated gold at the Winter Asian Games.
With 10 appearances at major tournaments, goaltender Yong Jun Wang came close to matching that mark. Back in 1981, he served as the backup to the legendary Ting Wen Cui. He didn’t become a regular presence in net until the mid-1980s, but once he did, he held onto the starting role for nearly seven years. Wang was part of the team for all three of China’s B-Pool World Championship campaigns during that period and twice backstopped the team to gold at the prestigious Asian Winter Games.
Another veteran from the 1981 squad who remained a key part of the national team throughout the 1980s was forward Fu Ping Wang, the joint leading goal scorer of the 1986 Asian Winter Games in Sapporo. He holds a unique distinction as the only player to have represented China at all 8 major tournaments during the decade (B-Pool and C-Pool World Championships, Asian Winter Games).
Closely trailing that trio is Yuje Tian, who made 9 appearances at major international events. A well-built forward, he led all scorers at the 1986 Asian Winter Games and put up solid numbers even at the B-Pool World Championships, despite the tougher competition. At the conclusion of his long national team career, he was rewarded with the captain’s “C.”
Another key offensive contributor in the late 1980s and early 1990s was long-time captain Anfu Wang, a nine-time participant in major tournaments and a consistent goal-scoring threat for China.
On the defensive side, two players named Zhang were mainstays – Zhinan Zhang played in 9 top-level tournaments between 1983 and 1992, while Zhenhua Zhang added 6 appearances between 1985 and 1992.
Another Rebuild on the Agenda – But No Heroes to Replace the Old Guard
New head coach Baocai Wang made a desperate attempt at a bold generational shift. At the 1993 B-Pool World Championship in the Netherlands, China arrived with a significantly younger roster, averaging just 23.26 years in age.
However, the new generation lacked the potential of their predecessors. The blowout losses were even worse than the year before – the most crushing being a 1-21 defeat against Poland. Still, the team managed to scrape out a narrow win over Bulgaria, a squad also struggling with stagnation in the wake of political changes, avoiding relegation in the process.
China’s time in the B-Pool World Championship came to an end in 1994 in Denmark. The team suffered heavy defeats in all seven games, finishing with an astonishingly lopsided goal differential of 11-98. They fell to Switzerland (1-20), a newly independent Latvia (0-22), the Netherlands (3-8), host Denmark (2-12), Japan (2-14), Romania (1-7), and finally, Poland (2-15).
Finishing in last place meant China ranked 20th in the world overall – its final appearance in the Top 20 of international hockey.
Things didn’t get any easier in the C-Pool. The collapse of the Soviet Union flooded the competition with new, highly competitive teams – Latvia, Kazakhstan, Belarus, and Ukraine – all of whom, along with newly independent Slovakia, were forced to start at the C-Pool level despite already being far stronger than that tier.
This further complicated China’s already difficult situation, as the team now had to fight just to avoid dropping even further down the world rankings.
From Glory to Struggle – Chinese Hockey’s Decline
Although China formally remained in the B-Pool for three consecutive years, the reality was that the country’s hockey program was already in steep decline. While the 1980s could unquestionably be called its golden era, the 1990s marked a period of stagnation.
This downturn was closely tied to significant political and economic changes within the country. Unlike its Eastern European counterparts, China’s regime remained intact, but it too underwent major economic transformations that had a lasting impact on its hockey development.
The strengthening of market economy principles extended into the world of sports, which became increasingly “socialized” – in other words, commercialized. In practice, this meant that direct government subsidies for hockey dwindled, while clubs were expected to finance their operations independently through commercial activities such as ticket sales and advertising revenue.
Instead of broadly supporting all sports, the government introduced a “gold medal strategy,” systematically and selectively allocating funding only to Olympic disciplines – primarily individual sports – with the highest chances of success.
Ice hockey found itself pushed to the very fringes of public interest. Professional clubs faced growing financial struggles – many failed to adapt to the new reality and simply ceased to exist. The situation was further compounded by the lack of a new generation of talent. It seemed as if every conceivable factor was working against Chinese hockey… (1)
IIHF Restructures – China Suddenly Finds Itself in the Second Tier
In 1998, the IIHF expanded the A-Pool to 16 teams to accommodate the influx of new elite hockey nations. Three years later, the governing body introduced a major overhaul of the World Championship format: the previous four-tier system (with 16, 8, 9, and 9 teams) was replaced by a new divisional structure.
The Top Division remained at 16 teams, while Division I and Division II were created, each featuring 12 teams. Both Division I and Division II were further split into two equal groups of six, with the winners earning direct promotion to the higher level.
Thanks to this restructuring, China was given a brief opportunity to re-enter the second-highest tier of international hockey. Although the team itself had made little progress over the years – and its overall world rankings remained largely unchanged, on paper, it found itself placed in Division I, the successor to the old B-Pool.
China competed at this level in 2001 (where it avoided relegation thanks to a surprising win over Estonia), 2002, 2005, and 2007. However, the results from these tournaments closely resembled the struggles the team endured during its three-year stint in the B-Pool between 1992 and 1994.
Likely due to the large disparities between teams within each division and the frequent lopsided scores, the IIHF introduced a significant adjustment to the divisional system in 2011. The two parallel groups in both Division I and Division II were replaced by a hierarchical structure featuring Group A and Group B within each division. Meanwhile, the newly established Division III remained a single-group competition.
This restructuring resulted in a six-tier system, ranked from highest to lowest as follows: Top Division, Division IA, Division IB, Division IIA, Division IIB, and Division III.
Only One Path from the Bottom – Stagnation Gives Way to Hope
China’s decline, unfortunately, did not stop. For years, the national team remained stuck in the fifth tier of international hockey – Division IIB, ranking between 35th and 40th in the world. This status was merely a reflection of the sport’s broader downfall in China, plagued by a lack of public interest, a dwindling talent pool, and a deteriorating infrastructure.
China men’s national team soon found itself losing to nations like Spain, Australia, Serbia, Iceland, New Zealand, Belgium, Israel, Mexico, and even Turkey. By 2011, China had dropped to 39th place in the IIHF rankings – its lowest position in history.
Everything changed, however, at the 128th IOC Session in Kuala Lumpur in July 2015. It was there that the decision was made: Beijing – where China’s hockey team had once played its most iconic tournament – was awarded the 2022 Winter Olympics. But that, as they say, is another story…
The 1980s – A Source of Inspiration and a Lesson Learned
Chinese hockey experienced its greatest era in the 1980s. The generation led by players like You Ke Yang, Benyu Wang, Fu Ping Wang, and Yuje Tian undoubtedly had significant potential. However, China might have achieved even greater success if certain key decisions had been handled differently:
- If the team had not rushed into a roster overhaul following the 1983 C-Pool World Championship.
- If Slavomír Lener had been allowed to continue his promising coaching work.
- If Lener’s advice had been taken more seriously – especially his push for Chinese players to gain experience in top European leagues.
- If more emphasis had been placed on developing the domestic top league, which at the time was still played only as a short annual tournament rather than a full-season competition.
The 1980s – and to some extent, the early 1990s – can serve today’s Chinese hockey movement not only as a source of inspiration but also as a lesson learned. This era will forever be written in golden letters in the history of Chinese hockey. Even now, as China strives to reclaim its lost standing and former glory, it shines as a beacon of hope. But can Chinese hockey truly return to those heights?
The current generation of “Asian Hornets”, led by players like Pengfei Zhang, Zesen Zhang, Youyang Hou, and Jing Wang, plays a hardworking, fast, and disciplined brand of hockey. However, it remains to be seen whether they can break into Division IA in the near future – a level that would roughly match China’s past standing on the world stage.
China’s Golden Boys – Where Are They Now?
What became of the key figures from Chinese hockey’s golden era? Information is scarce, but we managed to uncover a few details.
⭐ Benyu Wang transitioned into coaching after his playing career, working at all levels of the national program – from U18 and U20 squads to the senior team. He also coached Chinese clubs in the Asia League Ice Hockey (ALIH). Around the time of the Beijing Olympics, he disappeared from the senior national team scene for several years, only to be brought back in 2023 by the newly elected leadership of the Chinese Ice Hockey Association, which appointed him as an assistant coach under Spiros Anastas. He has continued in his role even after Perry Pearn took over as the head coach.
⭐ Ke Qiang Wu, one of the leading figures of the 1981 team, also moved into coaching after retiring as a player. He even served as head coach of the Chinese men’s national team, leading them at the 1989 C-Pool World Championship and the 1992 B-Pool World Championship.
⭐ Nai Feng Yao, another architect of the 1981 success, made his mark in the women’s national program. As a coach, he achieved remarkable success, guiding the Chinese women’s team to the semifinals of the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano – the greatest achievement in the history of Chinese women’s hockey.
⭐ Shao Tang Bian has also remained committed to hockey, now serving in a managerial role with Kunlun Red Star Shenzhen, a club competing in the newly established Chinese Ice Hockey League (CIHL). (2)
| This article is part of the series |
|---|
| ⭐ “The Golden Age of Chinese Ice Hockey” ⭐ |
| 1️⃣ Part I: Fever in Beijing, 1981 |
| 2️⃣ Part II: Asia’s Top Force |
| 3️⃣ Part III: Growth & Decline |
Sources, Quotes and Notes:
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