The International Ice Hockey Federation and the Mongolian Ice Hockey Federation organized the “Ice Hockey U18 Asia and Oceania Championship” from March 11 to 17 in Ulaanbaatar at the Steppe Arena. Six teams from Mongolia, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, United Arab Emirates, Iran, and Thailand took part in this tournament.

The Uzbekistani team won the gold medal with five wins, the Turkmenistan team took second place with four wins and one loss, and the Mongolian team took third place with three wins and two losses. UAE came fourth with six points ahead of Thailand, whose only victory was against Iran. The Iranians found this tournament tough, scoring just four goals as they lost all five games.

Rustamkhonov Jasurbek, who scored 26 goals, number 88 of Uzbekistan, was named the “Best Forward” of the tournament, while E.Ariunbileg, number four of Mongolia, was named the “Best Defender”. The "Best Goalkeeper" of the tournament was Kerr Alexander, the number one athlete of the United Arab Emirates with an 88.84 SVS percentage (the number of shots that were saved and stopped by the goalie).

R.Jasurbek, team captain and star forward player of the Uzbekistani team, said “It is my first-time visiting Mongolia. Mongolia is such a beautiful country. But there was a lot of traffic. The Mongolian team was the greatest and most powerful opponent for us. I was very proud to participate in this competition that represents my country. We worked on this for a long time. Thank you to the IIHF and the MIHF for organizing this tournament amazing. Congratulation to our couches and my team. We all worked hard, and that’s why we deserved to win.” Rustamkhonov Jasurbek has some experience playing hockey in Europe.

The tournament was also a big deal for Mongolia, which was hosting an IIHF event for the first time. The newly built Steppe Arena in Ulaanbaatar can hold 2,600 spectators and is the first indoor hockey arena in Mongolia’s history. The IIHF World Championship Division IV will be held in Mongolia on March 23 to 26 with participants from Indonesia, Kuwait, Mongolia, Philippines.