Four Turkmenistan ice hockey players have been suspended for assaulting and injuring three Hong Kong players after the teams’ match at the 9th Asian Winter Games in Harbin, Heilongjiang province.
The players were banned from participating in the remaining matches of the Games. The Hong Kong players, who sustained minor injuries, will still attend the quarterfinals against Kyrgyzstan on Monday night.
The punishment was made by the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF), the Sports Federation and Olympic Committee of Hong Kong, China (SF&OC) announced on Monday.
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The assault occurred after a men’s Group C match between Hong Kong, China and Turkmenistan on Sunday that the SAR won 5-1.
Video footage captured on site showed that during the post-game handshakes, several Hong Kong, China team members fell to the ground after they were assaulted by some Turkmenistan players. The conflict lasted about one minute.
The referee at the scene meted out penalties to three Turkmenistan players — Erkin Kakabayev, Arslan Geldimyradov and Begench Dovletmyradov — imposing a “five-minute major + 20-minute game misconduct” on each of them for improper behavior during the game.
In a statement earlier, the SF&OC strongly condemned the “deliberate attack and harm” carried out by Turkmenistan athletes and called for action against the incident.
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Welcoming the IIHF’s decision, Kenneth Fok Kai-kong, the chef de mission of the Hong Kong, China delegation and vice-president of the SF&OC, stressed that regardless of the match result, athletes should never be subjected to violence, and this is not something a civilized society would condone.
He confirmed that all of the three Hong Kong athletes are in stable condition after treatment, although one of them required stitches on a hand.
Based on his conversations with Hong Kong players, Fok said that the opposing team displayed disrespectful and threatening behavior through various gestures and malicious actions during the game. In contrast, the Hong Kong team adhered to principles of mutual respect and friendship, refraining completely from retaliatory or reckless behavior.
Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu, who is in Harbin, visited the injured athletes on Monday morning, expressing deep concern over the incident and wished the injured athletes a speedy recovery.
In a social media post following the visit, Lee praised the athletes for remaining calm and restrained during the incident, upholding the spirit of sportsmanship, and demonstrating the professionalism and ethics of Hong Kong athletes.
He encouraged the athletes to maintain the best mental state, compete with a professional attitude unaffected by any circumstances, and expressed Hong Kong residents' support for the ice hockey team.
Lee also instructed Hong Kong’s Culture, Sports and Tourism Bureau and the SF&OC to follow up on the matter, ensuring the safety of Hong Kong athletes to the fullest extent.
