MINSK, July 30 -- Belarus must return to the world's elite hockey next year, Andrei Sidorenko, new head of the national team, told local media on Monday.

The coach said that he intends to attract all the best Belarusian hockey players to the team in order to fulfill the task.

He said he needs to "build" the team. "We want to attract players, follow everyone, but we will take into account both experienced and young people," he added.

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 April 29 to May 5 in 2019.

【体坛英语资讯：Belarus coach vows to bring national team to ice hockey worlds elite】相关文章：

★ 体坛英语资讯：Mourning career likely over after knee injury

★ 娱乐英语资讯：Miss Serbia, Kosovo bury politics

★ 体坛英语资讯：Ekstroem beats Schumacher in Wembley final

★ 体坛英语资讯：Lin wins China derby to book final berth

★ 娱乐英语资讯：Jennifer Aniston picks Tom Brady as the face of SmartWater

★ 体坛英语资讯：Indiana Jones tops hero poll

★ 体坛英语资讯：Beijing Olympic flame arrives in Canberra

★ 娱乐英语资讯：Charlotte Church names her baby girl

★ 体坛英语资讯：Venus, Sharapova go through at Wimbledon

★ 娱乐英语资讯：Celeb fashion craze hits teen market