The IIHF Women’s Challenge Cup of Asia produced two surprise results on the opening day in Abu Dhabi ©IIHF

There were surprises on the opening day of the International Ice Hockey Federation’s Women’s Challenge Cup of Asia in Abu Dhabi as reigning champions Chinese Taipei lost 3-2 to Thailand, the bronze medallists in 2018.

Pijittra Saejear, Kiratika Changna and Kwanchanok Chueyklang were the scorers for Thailand, with Chinese Taipei’s goals coming from Wu Fang-Chi and Kuo Yi-Ting.

A second upset occurred in another top division match as Singapore beat New Zealand under-18s, the 2018 silver medallists, 5-2.

Next up for Singapore tomorrow will be the fifth team involved, Malaysia.

The Division One tournament is running concurrently in the United Arab Emirates and involves the hosts, Philippines, India and Kuwait.

The IIHF Challenge Cup of Asia series provide competitive opportunities for Asian teams that are either in the lower divisions of the IIHF World Championships or have not competed in any IIHF World Championships.

The first women's version of the tournament took place in Shanghai in 2010.

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