Kuwait men's national ice hockey team
 | |
| Nickname(s) | الصقور (The Falcons) |
|---|---|
| Association | Kuwait Ice Hockey Association |
| General Manager | Mubarak Al-Omani |
| Head coach | Pavel Arnost |
| Assistants |
Kamil Vavra Bojan Zidarević |
| Captain | Mohamad Al-Ajmi |
| Most games | Ahmad Al-Ajmi (81) |
| Most points | Ahmad Al-Ajmi (124) |
| Team colors | |
| IIHF code | KUW |
| Ranking | |
| Current IIHF | 50 |
| Highest IIHF | 50 (2018) |
| First international | |
.svg.png){kind=small}  (Gangneung, South Korea; 30 January 1999) | |
| Biggest win | |
 (Kuwait City, Kuwait; 26 April 2011) | |
| Biggest defeat | |
|
(Gangneung, South Korea; 30 January 1999) | |
| IIHF World Championships | |
| Appearances | 1 (first in 2018) |
| Best result | 50th (2018) |
| Asian Winter Games | |
| Appearances | 4 (first in 1999) |
| Best result | 6th (1999) |
| Arab Cup of Ice Hockey | |
| Appearances | 1 (first in 2008) |
| Best result |
 |
| 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 |
|
| International record (W–L–T) | |
| 35–41–1 | |
The Kuwaiti national ice hockey team (Arabic: منتخب الكويت لهوكي الجليد) is the national men's ice hockey team of Kuwait. They are controlled by the Kuwait Ice Hockey Association and has been an associate member of the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF).[1] Kuwait is currently not ranked in the IIHF World Rankings and have not entered in any World Championships, but have 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.[2][3]
History
In 1985, Kuwait joined the IIHF, but were expelled in 1992 due to lack of activity.[4] 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.[1][5] In 2007, they returned to international play at the 2007 Asian Winter Games where they recorded their first win against Macau.[5] The following year they competed in the Arab Cup finishing second after losing to the United Arab Emirates in the final.[6] In 2010, Kuwait competed in their first Challenge Cup of Asia, finishing seventh overall,[7] but 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.[8]
Tournament record
World Championships
| Year | Host | Result | Pld | W | OW | OL | L |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 through 2017 | Did not participate | ||||||
| 2018 |  | 50th place (4th in Division IIIQ) | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
Asian Winter Games
| Year | Host | Result | Pld | W | OW | OL | L |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 |  | 6th place | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 2003 |  | Did not participate | |||||
| 2007 |  | 7th place | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 2011 |  | 11th place (6th in Premier Division) | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
Competed as  | |||||||
| 2017 | | 16th place (6th in Division II) | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Competed as | |||||||
Arab Cup/GCC Gulf Championship
| Year | Host | Result | Pld | W | OW | OL | L |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arab Cup (2008) | |||||||
| 2008 |  | | 5 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| GCC Gulf Championship (2010–present) | |||||||
| 2010 | | | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 2012 | | | 5 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 2014 | | | 5 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 2016 |  |  | 5 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
Challenge Cup of Asia
| Year | Host | Result | Pld | W | OW | OL | L |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 through 2009 | Did not participate | ||||||
| 2010 |  | 7th place | 6 | 2 | – | 1* | 3 |
| 2011 | | 4th place | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| 2012 | | 4th place | 6 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 2013 |  | 4th place | 7 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| 2014 | | 6th place | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| 2015 | | 6th place (1st in Division I) | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2016 | | Did not participate | |||||
| 2017 | | 6th place (1st in Division I) | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2018 |  | 5th place | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
All-time record against other nations
As of April 25, 2017[5]
| Team | GP | W | T | L | GF | GA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 2 |
 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 46 | 5 |
| 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 46 |
| 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 14 | 52 |
 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 12 |
| 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 70 | 11 |
| 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 44 |
 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 13 | 29 |
 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 35 | 7 |
 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 32 | 29 |
 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 8 | 26 |
 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 3 |
 | 9 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 77 | 8 |
| 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 8 |
| 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 26 | 16 |
 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 3 |
 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 5 |
| 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 14 | 49 |
| 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 6 | 17 |
| Total | 77 | 35 | 1 | 41 | 397 | 410 |
References
- 1 2 "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. 2017-05-22.
- ↑ Szemberg, Szymon; Podnieks, Andrew (2008). "Story #42;Breakup of old Europe creates a new hockey world". International Ice Hockey Federation. Retrieved 2009-06-09.
- 1 2 3 "Kuwait-Men-All-Time-Results.pdf" (PDF). National Teams of Ice Hockey. Retrieved 2017-12-15.
- ↑ "Arab Cup victory for Emirates". International Ice Hockey Federation. Archived from the original on 2010-07-15. Retrieved 2010-05-14.
- ↑ "2010 IIHF Challenge Cup of Asia". International Ice Hockey Federation. Archived from the original on 2010-04-14. Retrieved 2010-04-13.
- ↑ Merk, Martin (2010-06-08). "UAE wins Gulf Championship". International Ice Hockey Federation. Archived from the original on 2010-06-09. Retrieved 2010-06-09.