China is in danger of being humiliated at the winter Olympics

IN 2018 THE Chinese men’s ice-hockey team qualified for the first time for the Olympic games, to be held in 2022 in Beijing, under a special dispensation for the host country. The cold reality of what this would mean was brought home last year when China was drawn in the same group in the competition as two powerhouses of the sport, Canada and America. A “slaughter” is likely, says China Sports Insider, a website. That would be a propaganda nightmare for the Communist Party, especially given the notable enthusiasm President Xi Jinping has shown for the sport.

In 2014 Mr Xi told an interviewer in Sochi, Russia, that ice hockey was his “favourite” winter sport to watch. Ice hockey also features most prominently in an official video about Mr Xi and the 2022 games. At one point he tells a group of young ice-hockey players that China’s “hopes are pinned on your generation”.