China beats Kazakhstan 5-0 at IIHF Ice Hockey Women's Asia Championship

BEIJING -- China defeated Kazakhstan 5-0 on the first competition day of the inaugural International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) Ice Hockey Women's Asia Championship held at the Beijing's Shougang Park on Thursday.

Qu Yue of China scored at home just 56 seconds after the match started, and her teammates Zhang Biyang and Fang Xin added another two in the first period for a 3-0 lead. China further extended the advantage in the second and third period to clinch a 5-0 victory.

"It was a good start for our team. Young players made goals and assists in this high level event to gain experience and confidence," said China's captain Yu Baiwei. "We are looking forward to competing with Japan and other great teams, which can help us tap our potential. The whole team will fight to the end."

In the other game, Japan crushed South Korea 12-0. Japan opened the scoreline early with two goals in just six minutes and made seven goals in the second period alone to secure the win.

Among all the four participating teams, world No. 7 Japan is the highest-ranked in the tournament, followed by China in the 12th place.

The second round of the event will take place on Saturday, in which China will confront South Korea, while Japan will face off Kazakhstan. The final round is set for Sunday.

The ice hockey venue was also transformed to host the World Table Tennis China Smash about one month ago at the Shougang Park, where the iconic Beijing Winter Olympic venue Big Air Shougang is located.