HARBIN, Feb. 13 (Xinhua) -- Kazakhstan stunned China 3-1 in the men's ice hockey semifinal at the 2025 Harbin Asian Winter Games on Thursday, setting up a gold medal clash with Japan.
Both teams played solid defense in a scoreless first period, before Kazakhstan broke the deadlock in the second period, taking a 2-0 lead with goals from Roman Starchenko and Dmitriy Grents.
China pulled one back with two minutes remaining, as Wang Jing found the net to keep the host's hopes alive. However, Dmitriy Breus sealed the win for Kazakhstan with a long-range goal in the final minute.
"We played well today and fought for every second. Kazakhstan is the strongest team in Asia, and scoring a goal showed our progress. We'll give it our all to win bronze," said China's captain Zhang Jiaqi.
In the other men's semifinal, Japan won the shootout against South Korea 4-3 to advance to the final. China will face South Korea in the bronze medal match on Friday.
In the women's Group A matches, Japan dominated South Korea 6-0, while Kazakhstan beat China 2-1.
With the Games concluding on Friday, the women's tournament will wrap up with China taking on Japan, while South Korea faces Kazakhstan in the decisive round-robin matchup. ■
