AKIPRESS.COM - The Kazakh capital hosted the International Ice Hockey Federation’s (IIHF) 2019 Ice Hockey World Championship for the first time April 29-May 5, with teams from Division I, Group A vying at Barys Arena.

The Kazakh team earned its promotion to 2020 IIHF World Championship in Switzerland, Astana Times reported.

Kazakhstan took the lead in the standings with 14 points and confirmed its first place as it beat Hungary 3-1 during the May 5 last round of games.

Earlier the same day South Korea beat Belarus 4-1. Yet these games could change little in the overall standings. South Korea stayed fourth, while Belarus stood solidly in the 2nd place. Thus, for the very last game of the championship the Kazakh team walked in to the ice already as the top qualifying team.

Placing first and the second in Group A makes teams eligible to play in the top division next year.

The Group B matches were held April 28-May 4 in Tallinn, Estonia.

Four months ago, the Kazakh national team played at the 2019 IIHF World Junior Championship in Victoria, Canada. Finishing ninth, the squad showed its best performance in recent years.