Kuala Lumpur (20 January, 2017): Thailand and Singapore will go head to head in the playoff for 5-6th placing on Sunday in the Women Hockey World League Round 2 at the Tun Razak Stadium.
Known for their hard work, fitness level and discipline, the Thais, ranked World No 31, defeated Hong Kong (WR: 37) 3-0 whilst World No 43 Singapore triumphed 4-1 over Kazakhstan (WR:33) in the 5-8th classification matches today.
It was Singapore’s maiden victory in the tournament after finishing bottom of Pool A. They lost to Thailand (0-4), Wales (0-7) and Italy (0-9) in the preliminary round. And in the quarterfinals, Ireland registered a 10-0 victory over the Singapore.
Tiffany Ong scored a brace (29th and 33rd minutes) while Ong Yan Ting (3rd) and Toh Li Man (9th) added to Kazakhstan’s misery. Algerim Mahanova replied for Kazakhstan in the 55th minute via a field goal.
The Thais and Hong Kong got off to a hotly contested match with a barrage of counter attacks early in the game and it was Thailand that capitalised from a penalty corner in the 7th minute through Praphatson Khuilang who scored her second goal in tournament.
However, it was only in the second half that Thailand upped the ante and increased the advantage to 3-0 with goals from team captain Tikhamporn Sakunpithak in the 37th minute via open play and Kornkanok Sanpoung five minutes before the buzzer.
“We went in with high hopes of winning this match. Our defeat against Malaysia in the quarter-finals had inspired all the players to go out there and make amends. Now we aim to at least finish fifth in the tournament,” said Thailand team captain Tikhamporn.
Hong Kong captain, I Ka Lo, said the tournament has been a good learning exposure for the younger players in the squad who will form the backbone of the Hong Kong team in future.
“There are a lot of positives here for the team. We don’t really look at the results as we have had a good share of our opportunities to score but squandered. It has been a good balance of attacking and defending in all matches,” she said.
The action returns on Saturday (21 January, 2017) with the semi-finals matches involving Ireland-Wales and Malaysia-Italy. The top two teams will qualify for the World League Round 3 in either Belgium or Cape Town, South Africa.
Results – 5-8th Classification matches: Thailand 3 Hong Kong 0; Singapore 4 Kazakhstan 1.
Saturday (21 January, 2017): Semi-finals: Ireland v Wales (6.15pm); Malaysia v Italy (8.30pm).
