The uniform of Chinese female ice hockey team Photo: VCG

Chinese men's ice hockey team finally "broke the ice" on Saturday night by making two historic goals at the Olympic Winter Games. Though they still lost 3-2 to Germany, which ranks at the 5th in the world, Chinese netizens hailed their athletes, calling the competition a "glorious defeat." 

According to Xinhua, the Germans scored two goals in the first period, and later widened the lead to 3-0. However, China's forward Fu Shuai put the puck into the net in the last minute of the second period, making the first ever goal for China's men's ice hockey team in Olympic history, and then forward Wang Taile scored again in the 49th minute. 

Though morale soared a lot after the two goals, the Chinese team failed to make further breakthroughs and lost to Germany.

The ice hockey players' fighting courage and never-give-up attitude inspired many Chinese netizens who boasted that "we feel proud even if they defeated!"

"The goals reflect the team's pursuit of sports and demonstrated their dignity through their perseverance," one netizen surnamed Xu who watched the event told the Global Times on Sunday.

"It was pretty crazy. The efforts of the entire team made this happen. It was a huge honor to score and I'll remember it for a long time. I think there are a lot of positives we took from tonight," Fu said after the game, the Xinhua News Agency reported. 

The Chinese men's ice hockey team, which currently ranks at 32nd in the world, has been able to set foot on the ice at the Winter Olympic Games for the first time since China is the host country.

However, they experienced an unfortunate start as they had to face three of the top five ice hockey teams in the world: Canada, the US and Germany.

Some sports critics said that in the face of these "powerful" opponents, the Chinese men's ice hockey team, based on either their world ranking or competitive experience, had little chance of winning, so the main task of the boys at the Games was to "surpass themselves and show their style."

In the first match on Thursday, the US team presented a fierce offense and showcased astonishing speed. Although the Chinese team's players were very proactive and did not give up any opportunities, they still lost the match 0-8.

Many Chinese netizens took to social media to comfort the team: "The greatest significance of you playing is getting more young Chinese to learn about and like the sport of ice hockey."

"If one Chinese ice hockey player can stand on the top podium in 20 years and after being asked why he plays the sport, he answers that 'I watched the Games in 2022.' Then that is a success for our generation," Ye Jinguang, the team head who noted that he "is close to the end of his sports career at age 37," posted on Sina Weibo on Tuesday.