What did Kazakhstan demonstrate at the Asia Hockey Championship without the "Barys" players?

The Asian Hockey Championship for men has concluded at the Halyk Arena in Almaty. The Kazakhstan national team, featuring a significantly revamped roster without any players from "Barys," faced numerous challenges against lower-ranked opponents but ultimately managed to secure a hard-fought victory in the home tournament, reports Caravan.kz.

The results of Kazakhstan's first match in the Asian Championship, which included four teams (with the hosts in Almaty being joined by teams from China, Japan, and South Korea), were shocking — a sensational defeat of 1:4 against South Korea. Fortunately, the remaining two matches saw the Kazakhs winning convincingly — 6:1 against China and 5:1 against Japan. Ultimately, both Kazakhstan and Japan ended up with 6 points, but the gold medals of the first-ever continental championship went to Kazakhstan due to their victory in the head-to-head match. The bronze medals were earned by the South Korean team (4 points), who managed to defeat Kazakhstan during the tournament and lost to China in overtime. The Chinese team finished in 4th place with 2 points.

The Kazakhstan national team is particularly pleased with this victory, achieved with a largely renewed lineup. Among the experienced players, Evgeny Rymarev, Dmitry Breus, Ivan Stepanenko, and Artyom Likhotnikov participated in Almaty. There was very little time for preparation — the team gathered in its current composition just 3 days before the start. Before the tournament began, veteran player Dmitry Breus mentioned in a conversation with "Karavan" that the Asian teams ranked lower could pose a threat to the hosts if they did not showcase their hockey skills. Ultimately, these concerns were confirmed in the first game against South Korea.

Debutant Haknazar Kenesbay from the capital's "Nomad" pointed out that the unexpected loss might have been due to the acclimatization of the Kazakhstan hockey players to the conditions of the mountainous region of Almaty.

“The toughest match of the three in the tournament was probably the first one, because of acclimatization and all that — our legs felt heavy, it was hard to 'breathe,' but then we got into the groove better,” said Haknazar Kenesbay.

He himself earned his first point for the senior national team in the game against Japan, contributing to the winning goal.

“The emotions are only the most positive, the best, it's nice to feel this. I had already played in Almaty for a year before, the fans here are great, and during the Asian Championship, we felt powerful support, it's a pleasure to play in front of such filled stands. Also, my friends in Astana were all cheering and watching on television, everyone is writing, calling, congratulating now,” said Haknazar Kenesbay.

In the subsequent matches against China and Japan, judging by the scores, Kazakhstan faced no problems. However, the head coach of the national team, Oleg Bolyakin, does not consider the quality of play to be ideal even in the victorious games, and there are reasons for this.

“In the Kazakhstan-Japan match, in my opinion, two equal teams fought. We drew certain conclusions, analyzed the opponent, and knew, of course, that it was a fast and mobile team, we eliminated their moments so that they wouldn't succeed. Therefore, I congratulate all the fans and the team on the victory. As for the first game, we did not have a single practice match before the tournament in this lineup. Yes, we gathered, I knew many players, but it was still difficult to determine the combinations and links; a practice match was needed for that, but unfortunately, it was not there, and that's why it turned out so spontaneously. However, I must say that we dominated again, creating many chances. In the match against South Korea, it went as it went; as they say, the first pancake is a lump, but then in the matches against China and Japan, everything went as we planned, and we are very happy with the final victory today,” said Oleg Bolyakin.

In the comments on the video celebrating the Kazakhstan team, fans noted that hockey is not as developed in Asia, and at the European and world levels, local hockey players would hardly be able to win medals with their current level of play. Head coach Oleg Bolyakin partially confirmed these statements, but also highlighted, using the example of the Olympic qualification, that the gap between Kazakhstan and European teams is not as significant as it seems.

“In the Olympic qualifiers, we played rather unsuccessfully, since our goal was to qualify for the 2026 Olympics by winning the qualification. However, we managed to defeat quite good and evenly matched teams that participate in Group A of the World Championship, just like us — Austria and Hungary. We found it a bit difficult against Slovakia because the level of players from the NHL surpassed the qualification of our players (who compete in the KHL),” stated Bolyakin.

The coach also added that even at the upcoming Winter Asian Games in Harbin, China, the Kazakhstan team would benefit from bolstering its lineup with players from HC "Barys" — the team's base club.

“If players from the KHL participate, of course, we will not refuse this help, because the level of the KHL is made up of trained players,” said Oleg Bolyakin.

The Asian Championship in Almaty has concluded, a historic result has been recorded in history, and fans are eagerly awaiting the next tournaments involving the Kazakhstan hockey team.