Czech women’s’ hockey team coach quits for health reasons

The Czech women’s’ national ice hockey team coach, Tomáš Pacina, has resigned his position due to health reasons, the Czech Ice Hockey Association informed on Tuesday. Mr Pacina has been in charge of the women’s’ team since 2020 and led it to its greatest success yet at this year’s Winter Olympics in Beijing, where the team reached the quarterfinals and took seventh place overall.

The President of the Czech Ice Hockey Association Tomáš Král said that he is saddened by the decision. Mr Pacina spent decades coaching teams in Canada and the United States before he returned to lead the Czech women’s’ team. He was known for his openness about the crisis in Czech ice hockey, which has seen the nation’s players struggle to emulate the achievements of the previous generation.