By Zaher Zee
Mohd Taufiq Khairi of Singapore in action in Bangkok. (Photo 1 courtesy of Zaher Zee)
Bangkok, Thailand, September 20–23, 2013 – Singapore did not get past the group stage at the 2nd Asian Footvolley Championship, losing their Group B matches to eventual champions, Thailand, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
Singpaore, fielding a young and enthusiastic pairing of Mohd Taufiq Khairi and Mohamad Nazri bin Mokhtar, lost 15–18, 13–18 to UAE in their first group match. Against Thailand, our boys subsequently lost 4–18, 5–18 to Thailand.
Malaysia, Australia and Philippines made up Group A. In the final, Thailand beat a quick-tiring UAE in straight sets, 18–13, 18–6.
Australia trounced Malaysia to take the third spot on the podium.
“Although we lost, I think we learnt a lot from the different playing styles of the countries we played against. We definitely need more match experience as this is our first competitive match since our last friendly game against Thailand in December 2012,” said Mohd Taufiq Khairi.
Indeed, this lack of match experience showed when Singapore trailed 9–0 after just 15 minutes of play in the first set against UAE but the Singapore team showed tenacity and determination to claw back to a respectable 15 points.
“Footvolley is really new in Singapore and we are still in the process of applying to become an NSA, but I feel the boys did their best and these results are still commendable. We will continue to do our best and fly Singapore’s flag proudly,” said Adaham Abdullah, president of the Footvolley Association of Singapore (FvAS).
Thailand, which holds the presidency of the Asian Footvolley Federation (AFvF), is a key player in the promotion of Footvolley in the region. Besides the tournament, a referee’s course and a coaches’ seminar were also held on the sidelines.
Akin to Beach Takraw but played with just two players, the objective of Footvolley is to send the ball over the net and ground it onto the opponent’s court, using any part of the body (the head, chest and legs) except the hands. Footvolley has its roots in Brazil but only came to Asia around 2005.
After strong lobbying by FvAT, Footvolley has been selected as one of the 23 sports to be contested during the 4th Asian Beach Games which will be held in Phuket, Thailand from November 14 to 23, 2014. In preparation for the Asian Beach Games, FvAS will soon be sending a team to Miami Beach, USA, in February 2014, to participate in the US Footvolley Pro Tour Tournament.
The Footvolley Association of Singapore (FvAS) is holding regular trials to select a men’s and women’s team, to be sent to the Asian Beach Games in Phuket next year (Nov 2014).
If you’re keen to try out a new sport and relish the thought of representing Singapore, drop an email to FvAS President, Mr Adaham Abdullah at adaham@footvolley.sg. He will furnish you with the details as to how you can come for training/selection.