Floorball is set to make its debut as a medal event at next month’s South East Asian Games, and there may be a familiar face donning Singapore’s colours.
Jay Pal Singh Sidhu, the men’s floorball team goalkeeper, is a recent Republic Polytechnic graduate. “Every team wants to win the gold medal. But for my aim, I want my team to play at our best and achieve based on our performance,” said the 21-year-old sports and exercise sciences student.
The biennial games, to be held between June 5 and 16, is making a return to Singapore for the first time since 1993. Athletes from 11 countries will compete in 402 events across 36 sports at the event.
Floorball was first featured in the 2013 SEA Games in Myanmar as a demonstration sport and no medals were given out. Both the Singapore men’s and women’s team clinched top spot.
In December last year, Singapore hosted the South East Asia Floorball Championships – a prelude to next month’s Games – and emerged champions.
The Singapore team has not rested on its laurels. The men, for example, went to Finland in April for a training camp.
Playing at the Institute of Technical Education (ITE) East, the national team aims to maximise home ground advantage during the SEA Games. “The crowd will give an extra boost and will certainly motivate the players to do well for each game,” said Mr Shahizan Ahmad, 45, Singapore’s floorball team manager.
