Kuwait men's national ice hockey team
The Kuwaiti national ice hockey team (Arabic: منتخب الكويت لهوكي الجليد) is the national men's ice hockey team of Kuwait. The team is controlled by the Kuwait Ice Hockey Association and has been an associate member of the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF).[2] Kuwait has played in the Challenge Cup of Asia, a regional tournament for lower-tier hockey nations in Asia. They made their debut at the 2018 World Championship Division III Qualification tournament.[3][4]
| Nickname(s) | الصقور (The Falcons) |
|---|---|
| Association | Kuwait Ice Hockey Association |
| General manager | Fuhaid Al-Ajmi |
| Head coach | Marko Zidarević |
| Assistants | Bojan Zidarević |
| Captain | Mohamad Al-Ajmi |
| Most games | Ahmad Al-Ajmi (99) |
| Top scorer | Ahmad Al-Ajmi (69) |
| Most points | Ahmad Al-Ajmi (129) |
| Team colors | |
| IIHF code | KUW |
| Ranking | |
| Current IIHF | 52 1 (29 September 2022)[1] |
| Highest IIHF | 50 (2018) |
| First international | |
| Japan 44–1 Kuwait (Gangneung, South Korea; 30 January 1999) | |
| Biggest win | |
| Kuwait 39–2 India (Kuwait City, Kuwait; 26 April 2011) | |
| Biggest defeat | |
| Japan 44–1 Kuwait (Gangneung, South Korea; 30 January 1999) | |
| IIHF World Championships | |
| Appearances | 3 (first in 2018) |
| Best result | 49th (2022) |
| Asian Winter Games | |
| Appearances | 4 (first in 1999) |
| Best result | 6th (1999) |
| Arab Cup of Ice Hockey | |
| Appearances | 1 (first in 2008) |
| Best result | 2nd (2008) |
| IIHF Challenge Cup of Asia | |
| Appearances | 8 (first in 2010) |
| Best result | 4th (2011, 2012, 2013) |
| Gulf Ice Hockey Championship | |
| Appearances | 4 (first in 2010) |
| Best result | 2nd (2010, 2012, 2014) |
| International record (W–L–T) | |
| 36–59–1 | |
History
In 1985, Kuwait joined the IIHF, and were expelled in 1992 due to lack of activity.[5] In 1999, Kuwait rejoined the IIHF and played their first games at the 1999 Asian Winter Games against Japan, China, and Mongolia, losing all three.[2][6] In 2007, they returned to international play at the 2007 Asian Winter Games where they recorded their first win against Macau.[6] The following year they competed in the Arab Cup finishing second after losing to the United Arab Emirates in the final.[7] In 2010, Kuwait competed in their first Challenge Cup of Asia, finishing seventh overall,[8] and in 2014, finishing 6th overall, losing all five games, and were relegated to Division I. Also they participated in the Kuwaiti organized Gulf Championship, finishing second behind the United Arab Emirates.[9]
Tournament record
World Championships
| Year | Host | Result | Pld | W | OW | OL | L |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 through 2017 | did not participate | ||||||
| 2018 | Sarajevo | 50th place (4th in Division IIIQ) | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| 2019 | Abu Dhabi | 51st place (5th in Division IIIQ) | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 2020 | Bishkek | Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic[10] | |||||
| 2021 | Bishkek | Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic[11] | |||||
| 2022 | Bishkek | 49th place (5th in IV) | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
Asian Winter Games
| Year | Host | Result | Pld | W | OW | OL | L |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | Gangneung | 6th place | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 2003 | Aomori | did not participate | |||||
| 2007 | Changchun | 7th place | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 2011 | Astana | 11th place (6th in Premier Division) | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| Competed as Athletes from Kuwait | |||||||
| 2017 | Sapporo | 16th place (6th in Division II) | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Competed as Independent Olympic Athletes | |||||||
Arab Cup/GCC Gulf Championship
| Year | Host | Result | Pld | W | OW | OL | L |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arab Cup (2008) | |||||||
| 2008 | Abu Dhabi | 2nd place | 5 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| GCC Gulf Championship (2010–present) | |||||||
| 2010 | Kuwait City | 2nd place | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 2012 | Abu Dhabi | 2nd place | 5 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 2014 | Kuwait City | 2nd place | 5 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 2016 | Doha | 3rd place | 5 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
Challenge Cup of Asia
| Year | Host | Result | Pld | W | OW | OL | L |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 through 2009 | did not participate | ||||||
| 2010 | Taipei City | 7th place | 6 | 2 | – | 1* | 3 |
| 2011 | Kuwait City | 4th place | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| 2012 | Dehradun | 4th place | 6 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 2013 | Bangkok | 4th place | 7 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| 2014 | Abu Dhabi | 6th place | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| 2015 | Kuwait City | 6th place (1st in Division I) | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2016 | Abu Dhabi | did not participate | |||||
| 2017 | Kuwait City | 6th place (1st in Division I) | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2018 | Pasay | 5th place | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
All-time record against other nations
As of 08 March 2022[6]
| Team | GP | W | T | L | GF | GA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Algeria | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 2 |
| Bahrain | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 46 | 5 |
| Bosnia and Herzegovina | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 17 |
| China | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 46 |
| Chinese Taipei | 5 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 14 | 60 |
| Hong Kong | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 3 | 36 |
| India | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 70 | 11 |
| Iran | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 9 |
| Japan | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 44 |
| Kyrgyzstan | 5 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 18 | 43 |
| Macau | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 35 | 7 |
| Malaysia | 7 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 34 | 34 |
| Mongolia | 6 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 10 | 37 |
| Morocco | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 3 |
| Oman | 9 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 77 | 8 |
| Philippines | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 21 |
| Qatar | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 26 | 16 |
| Saudi Arabia | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 3 |
| Singapore | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 11 | 12 |
| Thailand | 10 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 17 | 81 |
| Turkmenistan | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 24 |
| United Arab Emirates | 6 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 9 | 34 |
| Total | 96 | 36 | 1 | 59 | 420 | 591 |
References
- ^ "IIHF Men's World Ranking". IIHF. 29 September 2022. Retrieved 29 September 2022.
- ^ a b "Welcome, Georgia & Kuwait". International Ice Hockey Federation. Retrieved 13 May 2009.
- ^ "27 tournaments assigned". International Ice Hockey Federation. Retrieved 19 May 2017.
- ^ "2018 Events". International Ice Hockey Federation. 22 May 2017.
- ^ Szemberg, Szymon; Podnieks, Andrew (2008). "Story #42;Breakup of old Europe creates a new hockey world". International Ice Hockey Federation. Retrieved 9 June 2009.
- ^ a b c (PDF). National Teams of Ice Hockey. Archived from the original (PDF) on 16 December 2017. Retrieved 15 December 2017.
- ^ . International Ice Hockey Federation. Archived from the original on 15 July 2010. Retrieved 14 May 2010.
- ^ "2010 IIHF Challenge Cup of Asia". International Ice Hockey Federation. from the original on 19 April 2010. Retrieved 13 April 2010.
- ^ Merk, Martin (8 June 2010). . International Ice Hockey Federation. Archived from the original on 11 June 2010. Retrieved 9 June 2010.
- ^ "IIHF cancels March tournaments". iihf.com. 2 March 2020.
- ^ "IIHF – IIHF Council announces more cancellations". International Ice Hockey Federation. Retrieved 18 November 2020.
External links
- Official website
- IIHF profile