SINGAPORE: Bukit Batok SMC member of parliament Murali Pillai praised the outstanding performance of Singapore’s men’s and women’s teams, who secured an impressive eighth-place finish at the recently concluded World Masters Hockey World Cup in the over 40s category.
The tournament was held from Oct 12 to 21 at the Hartleyvale Stadium in Cape Town, South Africa.
“I am delighted to note that both our women’s and men’s over 40 hockey teams did phenomenally well at the World Masters Hockey World Cup 2024 last month.
Both of them secured a credible 8th place!” shared MP Pillai on his Facebook page on Nov 2.
The men’s team, led by head coach Packrisamy Kanan, defied expectations as they survived the group stage and reached the quarterfinals.
The women’s team started strongly with wins against Germany and host nation South Africa and also advanced to the knockout round.
“As our Malay friends would say, they displayed ‘Semangat’! What great ambassadors for active ageing and healthier living!” added the Bukit Batok SMC MP, who is also the adviser to the Singapore Hockey Federation.
In the round-robin stage, Singapore’s men’s team finished second on six points, behind leaders Germany in Group C.
Singapore began their campaign with a 5-0 loss against Germany before bouncing back with a 6-2 win against Alliance.
Singapore men’s team faced a setback in their third match, succumbing to a 3-1 defeat at the hands of Kenya, their second loss of the competition.
However, they swiftly rebounded with a resounding 3-1 victory over arch-rivals Malaysia in their final group match, which salvaged their campaign and boosted their morale.
Singapore’s campaign faced a challenging quarter-final hurdle, succumbing to a dominant New Zealand side with a 10-0 defeat.
The team then navigated a tough classification phase, enduring consecutive setbacks against formidable opponents France (0-5) and Malaysia (2-3) in a valiant effort to salvage their tournament standing.
“We may be a small country, but we’re a proud nation, and we love our hockey,” said the Singapore men’s team captain, Thiruchelvam Ranjan, in a post-tournament interview with the Singapore Hockey Federation.
Ranjan added that their achievements and results in the tournament were a testament to the time and effort put in by everyone involved in the team.
“Competing in our 40s is a different animal compared to our 20s. But what a privilege to be still playing the game we love, for the place we call home,” added Ranjan.
The Singapore women’s team was coached by Wayne Blazejczyk, and they delivered a commendable performance on the group stage, finishing in second position with six points.
They clinched victories against opponents Germany (1-0) and Alliance (2-0), and suffered a 3-0 loss to Group C leaders, USA.
In the quarter-finals, the Singapore women’s team encountered a formidable Australia, who delivered a 6-0 defeat before clinching the gold medal.
Undeterred, the team pressed on in the classification matches, only to face stern tests against Wales (0-3) and USA (1-3), ultimately concluding their tournament journey with a gritty display of determination and resilience.
Team manager Maxine Chia lauded the team’s achievement: “Our goal was to reach the quarterfinals, which we have accomplished.
This was an excellent result for Singapore considering the limited pool of 23 players we have to choose from, compared to nations like Australia where between 5,000 and 7,000 women are registered to play Masters hockey.”
Head coach Blazejczyk believed that the players had done well in the tournament to meet their ambitious goal of reaching the quarter-finals and being among the top eight teams in the world.
“Our challenge now is to get more women playing at Masters level to give us a greater pool of talent to choose from for the next World Cup.
This will allow us to improve this year’s performance and push Singapore further up the world rankings,” head coach Blazejczk said.
The women’s team head coach emphasised that their long-term goal is to compete against top countries and triumph over them in future competitions.