SEA Games: Heartbreak silver yet again for women’s waterpolo team

KUALA LUMPUR – Their SEA Games campaign on home soil in 2015 ended in tears after they were narrowly pipped to the gold medal by Thailand.

And there was a sense of déjà vu for the Singapore women’s waterpolo team at this year’s Games, as they were once again beaten to the gold by the Thais, who ran out 5-1 winners in Saturday morning’s (Aug 19) deciding match at the National Aquatic Centre in Bukit Jalil.

The one-sided final score however, did not reflect the full story of how the match played out, with Singapore giving the Thais a real run for their money, especially in the first-half.

The Thais, who entered the match as favourites, got off to the perfect start when they took the lead within the first two minutes through Kornkarn Puengpongsakul.

Angeline Teo got Singapore back on level terms midway through the second quarter, but her joy was short-lived, as Sarocha Rewrujirek scored almost immediately after to give Thailand the advantage again.

While the first-half was a tight, cagey affair, the second half proved to be more open ended, with Singapore chasing the equaliser and the Thais looking to consolidate their lead.

Ultimately though, the Thais’ superiority shone through, as they scored three more goals in the second half to put the result beyond any doubt.

Despite the defeat, Singapore captain Gina Koh said she was happy with her team’s overall performance and the way they managed to prevent the Thais from playing their usual counter-attacking game.

“In the first half, our strategy was to prevent them (Thailand) from counter-attacking, because from the past two games that’s what their main strategy was,” explained Koh. “As a result, we managed to keep the scoreline down, which was what we wanted.

“In the second half, we managed to create more opportunities, but sadly, we were unable to convert any of them. Nonetheless, the team remained stable even when we were losing and…all of us did not get nervous.

“So we played with no regrets this time round, because we tried our best and stuck to the game plan. But Thailand won because they are the better team, and we have to acknowledge that.”

Teo, who took part in the previous Games, said this defeat did not feel as painful as the one in 2015.

“Two years ago, we felt that the gold medal was right there for us, but it had just slipped through our hands because our gameplan wasn’t there,” the 23-year-old said.

“I think a lot of us went into this year’s Games wanting to get the gold medal.

“However, even though we lost again, the experience is different from two years ago…there was a lot more teamwork on our end, we’re working in sync now and we managed to give the Thais a good fight overall, which was encouraging.”

For the Thais, their ability to retain their gold medal in the event came as no surprise.

After all, their unexpected victory at the 2015 Games had served as the catalyst for a rejuvenation of the sport in the country, and the Thai team were then granted a bigger budget, which allowed them to go for training camps and competitions in Europe, Japan and Australia over the past two years.

The team’s head coach Daniele Ferri believes this experience at a higher level has helped to improve their playing standards, and it showed in their performances at the SEA Games this year.

“Maybe we now have more competitive experience, not just individually, but as a team,” said the Italian.

“Because of our victory (in 2015), we now have young players who started just two years ago, but have been training very hard with us, and so we’ve got a bigger base of quality players to choose from.

“As a result, we were able to constantly rotate our players today, while Singapore had to rely on the usual seven or eight players to play the entire game, so we were a bit fresher. In a sport like waterpolo, and at this level, it’s very difficult to have to last the entire game, and so it was hard for Singapore.

“Still, we needed to play intelligently in order to win because the Singapore coach set his team up very well, especially in defence, as they stopped us from counter-attacking, or we would have won by a bigger scoreline. The Singapore girls also tried hard and fought to the last second, so I have to congratulate them on putting up a good performance today.”

While Thailand may currently be the regional champions in women’s waterpolo, Singapore’s head coach Lee Sai Meng (above, left) is determined to help the country regain that title again one day.

“The Thais have gotten stronger, that’s for sure. But…that doesn’t meant that we just sit back and relax. We still have to catch up, and we must think of ways to overcome them (in future),” said Lee, a former men’s national waterpolo player.

When asked how he intended to close the gap on the Thais, Lee added: “The first thing we need to solve is (increasing) our base (of players).

“Right now, our girls only start playing waterpolo at around 17 years old when they are in Junior College. Their competitive experience is not even there, because every year they only have one competition – the ‘A’ division schools tournament.

“The next level for them is already the SEA Games, which is a difficult jump to make.  So that’s something we have to work on.

"We need to start these girls playing at a younger age and see how we can give them more competitions in future.”