Ready to outclass rivals in indoor game
INDOOR hockey will make its debut in the 29th Sea Games, and Malaysia are hot favourties to win both the gold medals on offer.
Even though the men and women are relatively new to the sport, the two teams have dived in like ducks into a pond.
Indonesia, Thailand, Singapore, the Philippines and Vietnam and the hosts will vie for the inaugural gold medals.
And while both the teams looked very comfortable training at a futsal venue in Klang, National Sports Council (NSC) director general Datuk Shapawi Ahmad was seen cringing at the sidelines.
“Wow. This sport is very dangerous!” he exclaimed as a player used a metal railing (which forms the court) to deflect the ball like in snooker towards his teammate.
The loud sound (thung!) of the ball hitting the metal barrier, as well as the super fast pace of the game and its robust nature awed the seasoned sports DG.
Fans should visit the competition venue to watch the splitsecond decisions by the players when passing and scoring to experience their wild adrenaline flow.
Malaysia’s last indoor hockey outing was played at the Doha Asian Championships, where the men finished fifth while the women made it all the way to the final before losing to seasoned indoor team Kazahkstan 2-1.
The good news is that both the men and women beat Thailand in Doha. The Thais are a powerhouse in men’s indoor while Indonesia have one of the top indoor teams in SoutheEast Asia.
“When we were told that indoor hockey will make its debut at the KL Games, we took up the challenge even though we did not have indoor teams then,” said Malaysian Hockey Confederation president Datuk Seri Subahan Kamal.
“But after a short spell, both the men and women have shown tremendous progress and we might look into a long term-development plan for both the teams after the Games.
“I believe that with the potential we have, indoor must not be let off as a one-off deal.”