MALAYSIA, heavy favorites coming in, finished off their comfortable run through the women’s hockey competition with a 6-1 gold medal victory over Thailand on Friday at the Theinphyu Hockey Field in Yangon. Myanmar sewed up the bronze, avenging a group stage loss to Singapore.
The bronze medal win for Myanmar comes as the team was only formed some six months ago from mostly recruited football players. Singapore had previously beat Myanmar 2-1 in the preliminary round.
Ma Thin Thin Hlaing, Myanmar’s team captain who scored the winning goal yesterday, said, “I am happy and proud of my team to have defeated a world standard team in front of host fans in our own country. And we will play to win the gold medal in the next SEA Games.” Singapore entered the SEA Games ranked 33rd in the world.
Following the women’s match, the vice president of the Myanmar Hockey Federation reminded the men’s team that they also must fulfill their duty, as they prepare to play Thailand for the men’s hockey bronze.
“The women’s team is only six months old. It proved Myanmar’s spirit. Whatever their ability was, they didn’t miss any chance they came across. I am proud of them. I think being ranked 33rd in the world rankings, the Singaporean team...underestimated Myanmar’s women’s team, thinking they would easily defeat us. Tomorrow’s match will also be as good as today’s. They [Myanmar’s men’s team] will play their best for third prize,” announced hockey vice president U Saw Lu Lu Htaw. seagames2013.com
MALAYSIA UPDATED. The national women's hockey squad began their hunt for gold at the Myanmar SEA Games in style when they thrashed hosts Myanmar 6-0 at the Theinphyu Hockey Stadium here, Friday.
In the first half, the two sides had a fair exchange of attacks until Rabiatul Adawiyah Mohamed netted the first goal through a penalty corner in the 27th minute.
In the second half, the national squad appeared more revitalised when Fazillah Sylbester Silin converted a penalty corner in the 41st minute for the second goal.
In the 46th minute, Nurul Nabila Mansur scored from another penalty corner and two minutes later, Norhidayah Ahmad Bokhari put in Malaysia's fourth goal.
The national squad continued to pile pressure on the hosts with Rabiatul scoring again through a penalty corner in the 62nd minute for the fifth goal.
Team captain Nadia Abdul Rahman completed the rout of Myanmar in the 64th minute through a brilliant field goal for the sixth goal..
VIETNAM UPDATED. Viet Nam's field hockey team will make history when, for the first time, it competes at the SEA Games during this week's first international tournament. The sport, which has been played in Viet Nam for about 10 years but has not become popular, also marks its return to the regional biennial tournament after eight years, since last being played during the Games in 2005 in Manila, the Philippines. Although field hockey is a newcomer at the SEA Games, and all members are not professional athletes, the Vietnamese set a target of winning a bronze medal during their debut competition."We have always dreamed that one day we could wear the national jersey. Now it comes true, surprisingly. I and my teammates all know our responsibilities when representing Viet Nam in this regional competition. We will try our best to write a story," said Huynh Dai Phuc, one of the most experienced players on the team."We hope that through these games, field hockey will be more widely popularised in our country, and more people will come and the sport will develop strongly," said the coach assistant.The 17-member team will depart on December 11 and meet the Singapore team in their first match at Thein Phyu Stadium in Yangon City.At the 27th SEA Games there are five teams competing in the men's tournament and six in the women's (Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore, Indonesia, Cambodia, and Myanmar). vietnamnet.vn
