The 2026 IIHF Asia Women’s Ice Hockey Championship will be held in Oskemen from November 5th to 8th. Kazakhstan will compete for medals against teams from Japan, China, and Korea.

The first continental tournament for women’s teams was held a year earlier in China. Back then, the team from Kazakhstan won bronze medals, defeating Korea in a shootout in the deciding match. Japan won the 2025 IIHF Asia Women’s Championship.

As of April 2024, Japan is ranked 7th in the IIHF women’s rankings, China 12th, Korea 18th, and Kazakhstan 22nd. The rankings are based on the results of competitions at the Olympic Games, World Championships, and Olympic qualifying tournaments over a four-year period.

The last time women’s ice hockey competitions were held in Kazakhstan was in November 2016. Then, in Astana, Kazakhstan won the second stage of the Olympic qualification. Thus,  Kazakhstan women’s national ice hockey team will play with their home crowd for the first time in 9 years.

Photo: icehockey.kz