The city of Oskemen will host the 2026 IIHF Ice Hockey Women’s Asia Championship from 5 to 8 November. The home team of Kazakhstan will compete for the title alongside the teams of Japan, China, and Korea.
The inaugural edition of the continental women’s championship was held last year in China. Japan claimed the championship title, maintaining its position as Asia’s top-ranked team in the IIHF Women’s World Ranking. The Japanese team also secured qualification for the 2026 Winter Olympic Games in Milan by winning the Olympic pre-qualification tournament.
The steady progress of women’s ice hockey in Asia is evident from the results achieved by the participating teams. Japan has been a consistent participant in the Top Division of the IIHF Women’s World Championship, China recently competed at that level, and Korea remains Kazakhstan’s rival in Division IB.
According to the latest IIHF Women’s World Ranking (April 2024), Japan holds 7th place, China is ranked 12th, Korea 18th, and Kazakhstan 22nd. The IIHF ranking is calculated based on results from the Olympic Games, IIHF World Championships, and Olympic Qualification Tournaments over the past four years.
The last international women’s ice hockey tournament held in Kazakhstan took place in November 2016, when the national team won the second round of the Olympic Qualification in Astana. This year, after a nine-year break, the Kazakhstan women’s national team will once again compete on home ice — in the historic heart of Kazakh hockey, Oskemen.
All six games will be streamed live on https://iihf.tv
Below is the game schedule for the 2026 IIHF Ice Hockey Women’s Asia Championship:
Game schedule of 2026 IIHF Ice Hockey Women's Asia Championship
Wednesday, 5 November 2025
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16:00 – China vs Korea
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19:30 – Kazakhstan vs Japan
Friday, 7 November 2025
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14:00 – Japan vs Korea
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17:30 – China vs Kazakhstan
Saturday, 8 November 2025
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14:00 – Japan vs China
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17:30 – Korea vs Kazakhstan
note: time zone: GMT+5
