SHENZHEN, China, April 29 (Xinhua) -- The 2026 IIHF Men's Ice Hockey World Championship Division I Group B tournament opened on Wednesday, with host China suffering a 7-4 defeat to South Korea.

South Korea's Kim Sang-wook opened the scoring in the first period, before Huang Yixiang leveled for China just two minutes later. In the second period, Kang Yoon-seok restored South Korea's lead, but China's Yan Ruinan quickly responded to make it 2-2.

South Korea unleashed a quick offensive burst with two goals in the space of a minute, before adding another late in the period to open up a 5-2 advantage.

In the third period, Wang Jing scored for China, but South Korea's Kim Geon-woo responded two minutes later. With 12 minutes remaining, China goaltender Chen Shifeng left the ice due to injury, with 17-year-old Tu Yueran stepping in to make his national team debut.

Shortly afterward, China debutant Wang Haoxi, who was drafted by the NHL's San Jose Sharks in 2025, found the net, cutting the deficit to 6-4.

In the closing minutes, China pulled goaltender Tu and sent out six attackers in a final push. Despite several promising attempts, the team was unable to convert and instead conceded an empty-net goal.

Speaking afterwards, Huang said China needed to start faster and cut out the mistakes next time out against Romania.

"I felt that this goal was bound to come, because I had missed a few chances earlier. I believe that the more shots you take, the higher the scoring rate will be," Wang said. "There are still four matches to go, and I believe the team will become increasingly cohesive."

Earlier on Wednesday, Estonia defeated Spain 12-2, while Romania cruised past the Netherlands 7-0. ■