KUWAIT: Kuwait National Hockey Team will start its quest for the Ice Hockey World Championship Division IV with a match against Malaysia on Tuesday. This match will be proceeded by another between Mongolia and Indonesia. The opening ceremony will be under the patronage and presence of Minister for National Assembly Affairs, Minister for Youth Affairs, Minister for Communications Affairs Dawood Maarafi.
The Championship will be for four days under the supervision of International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF). Deputy Chairman of Kuwait Winter Games club Khalid Al-Mutairi said the organizing committee extorted hard efforts and completed all logistics related to hosting the championship and received the approval of IIHF, adding that the club worked on preparing Kuwait Team in a way that is suitable for this important championship through training camps and friendly matches at the highest of levels as the matches will not be easy.
Al-Mutairi asked Kuwait fans to be present and support the team as the organizing committee was keen to allocate a section for families.
Meanwhile, Kuwait Ice Hockey team coach said his players are ready for the championship and come out the winners to move to division III, bearing in mind that they are playing at home in front of its fans.
He said the players are experienced and able to deal with the pressure of major events. Indonesia’s coach said his team is relatively new to the game, and this championship will be an important step for gaining experience and will help promote the game in Indonesia. He said that Mongolia’s team is strong and experienced, yet we will do our best to come out with the best results and make it the best start in this world event.