The Ninth Asian Winter Games in Harbin delivered an electrifying ice hockey showdown as China squared off against South Korea in a heart-pounding overtime finish. 🌨️🥅
South Korea struck first when Lee Chong-min netted a goal at 6:32, setting the stage for an intense match. Not to be outdone, China's captain Zhang Jiaqi responded swiftly, leveling the score just two minutes later. ⚡️
With three minutes left in the first period, Yan Juncheng's crucial shot put China ahead, making it 3-1. The second period saw China extend their lead to 4-1 with goals from Zheng Mingju and Guo Jianing. However, South Korea wasn't giving up, as Ahn Jin-hui and Kim Sang-yeob narrowed the gap to 4-3. 🔥
The third period ignited even more excitement when Kim Sang-yeob tied the game at 4-4, pushing the match into overtime. In overtime, Yu Jilong scored for China, making it 5-4, but Lee's impressive shot forced the game into an extra thrilling phase. ⏰✨
In the final 45 seconds of overtime, China's goalie Chen Shifeng made a heroic save, but South Korea's Kim Sang-wook clinched the winning goal, sealing a 6-5 victory for his team. 🥳👏
Despite the loss, China's captain Zhang Jiaqi remained optimistic: \"South Korea are a stronger team, and we made more mistakes today. Our players are young and have limited experience at international competitions. Anyway, we will do our best in the following match, striving to win a medal.\" 🏅💪
Meanwhile, in other Group A matches on Tuesday, Japan dominated with a staggering 15-0 win over Chinese Taipei, and Kazakhstan swept past Thailand 12-0. On the women's side, South Korea routed Hong Kong 8-0, and Kazakhstan cruised to a 9-0 victory over Thailand. 🌟🏆
