UAE win Ice Hockey World Championship Division III in Luxembourg

National team beat hosts 8-1 to secure triumph

UAE beat hosts Luxembourg in their final game at the Ice Hockey World Championship. Photo: WAM

UAE beat hosts Luxembourg 8-1 to win their division of the Ice Hockey World Championship for the first time with a 100 per cent record.

The team topped the five-strong standings in Division III A with a perfect 4-0 record in Kockelscheuer after an outstanding victory in their final match.

Hamel Al Qubaisi, vice-president of the UAE Winter Sports Federation, dedicated the landmark victory to the UAE leadership, which he said had provided support and assistance.

"This achievement is a culmination of well-planned strategy and accumulative work by the federation to win international championships," he said.

Juma Al Dhaheri, captain of the UAE team, said the victory was the culmination of ten years' work to assemble a competitive team.

UAE joined the IIHF in 2001 but didn’t play their first World Championship until 2010, and earned their first win four years later.

The team is coached by Dave Rich, a 52-year-old Canadian from Ottawa who had a lengthy career in Germany before coaching there for more than a decade. More recently, he coached in Italy before moving to the UAE.