Uzbekistan wins Div 4 in first-ever IIHF event

In its first time ever competing at an IIHF event, Uzbekistan has won the 2025 IIHF World Championship Division IV in Yerevan, Armenia. Uzbekistan took 13 of 15 possible points with four regulation wins and one shootout defeat, outscoring its opponents 79-10. As a result of the win, Uzbekistan will be promoted to Division III Group B in 2026.

It was a very tight battle for gold, silver and bronze between Uzbekistan, Armenia and Kuwait, with the order of finish determined by the outcomes of the three head-to-head meetings between the teams.

On the opening day of the tournament, 13 April, Uzbekistan beat Kuwait 13-3, thanks to five points each from Vadim Kravchenko, Artyom Maltsev and Vasiliy Jilov. But as bad as that result was, it would be Kuwait’s only loss of the tournament. The next day, host Armenia beat Uzbekistan 3-2 in a shootout, thanks to a 57-save performance by Artem Putalian. Then two days later, on 16 April, Kuwait beat Armenia 5-4, with Ilia Drozdetskikh’s overtime goal capping a four-point game. This time, Putalian made 65 saves in a losing cause.

Otherwise, the three teams all beat Indonesia, Iran and Malaysia in regulation time. Uzbekistan finished with 13 points, Armenia with 12 and Kuwait with 11.

Armenia, the tournament host, had previously competed in five World Championships in the early 2000s but this was the team’s first time competing since 2010. Kuwait has competed regularly since 2018, except for the two years cancelled by the pandemic, and this is the team’s third straight medal finish in Division IV. Maksim Kuznetsov’s 22 points led the team.

Kuwait was competing in Division IV for the fourth straight year and had its third straight top-three finish after taking silver last year. This year’s team scored 56 goals, with Drozdetskikh leading the tournament in assists (23) and points (36). He was followed by defenceman Anton Tcibin, who amazingly led the tournament with 14 goals and had 35 points. Both players tied for the tournament plus/minus lead with +29.

In fourth place with six points was Indonesia, which was competing in Division IV for the third straight year. Indonesia finished third last year. Muhamad Naga was the team’s top scorer with eight points.

Indonesia started the tournament with a narrow 2-1 win over Iran, which finished in fifth place with three points. Iran, which first competed in 2022, was back in Division IV this season after being relegated from Division III Group B last year. Iran scored six goals this tournament, with Eliyah Hamzeh and Jalal Keyhanfar each finding the net twice.

Malaysia, which has also competed at the Worlds since 2022, had competitive games against Indonesia and Iran – in 2024, the Malaysians took Indonesia to overtime but did not manage a point this time. Mohammad Hariz Ananda had nine points.