MINSK, 30 July (BelTA) – The Belarusian national ice hockey team must return to the world's elite hockey next year, Andrei Sidorenko, new head of the Belarusian national team, told the media on 30 July, BelTA informs.
According to Andrei Sidorenko, he plans to involve the best Belarusian hockey players in the team to fulfill the task.
In May 2018, Belarus lost its place in the elite division of the IIHF World Championship, placing 15th in Denmark. Next season the Belarusians will have to compete for one of the two berths in the elite. The tournament will take place in the Kazakhstan capital Astana from 29 April to 5 May 2019. Apart from the hosts of the tournament, Belarus will compete with Hungary, the Republic of Korea, Lithuania and Slovenia.
Andrei Sidorenko, who has just turned 59, worked with the Belarusian national team from 1993 to 1996. This season the coaching staff of the Belarusian national team will include Dmitry Kravchenko as one of Andrei Sidorenko's assistants.
