Kazakhstan Dominates in Opening Match at 2025 Asian Winter Games

The Kazakhstan men's national hockey team made a powerful start in the group stage of the 2025 Asian Winter Games, securing a dominant 12-0 victory over Thailand in their opening match.

From the start, Oleg Bolyakin’s squad took control of the game. The Kazakh team launched their offensive early, scoring four goals in just 147 seconds during the first period. Vyacheslav Kolesnikov opened the scoring, followed by goals from Roman Starchenko, Ruslan Ospanov, and Ivan Stepanenko between the 11th and 13th minutes.

The offensive continued into the second period, with Kazakhstan extending their lead. Alikhan Omirbekov struck in the 33rd minute, and Adil Beketayev followed up with another goal at the 36-minute mark, pushing the score to 6-0.

The Thai team faced another fierce attack from Kazakhstan in the final 20 minutes of the game. Yevgeny Rymarev capitalized on a power play in the 41st minute, while Andrey Buyalskiy added another goal four minutes later. Artem Likhotnikov found the net in the 47th minute. Beketayev scored his second goal in the 49th minute, followed by a strike from Temirlan Gaitamirov at the 55-minute mark. Likhotnikov sealed the commanding victory with another goal in the final minute of play.

Kazakhstan is competing in Group A at the Asian Winter Games and will face strong opponents in upcoming matches, including China, Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan.

Meanwhile, the Kazakhstan women's hockey team also had an impressive start to their tournament. They registered a massive 12-0 victory over Hong Kong in their opening match.