Guards and skates on, helmets protecting their heads while they made their way on ice with team emblems printed on their chests, ice hockey players skate out and take their positions.
This isn’t a sport you would think will be played in a tropical country but ice hockey has been on the rise in Malaysia. It has also been growing in popularity in Asian countries.
In Malaysia, the ice hockey scene is managed by the Malaysian Ice Hockey Federation (MIHF), which started 26 years ago as a club.
For the past seven years, the federation has organised its very own Malaysia Invitational Ice Hockey Tournament (MIIHT), which has reached out and drew participation from many Asian countries.
Six countries – Hong Kong, Singapore, Thailand, Philippines, Indonesia and Malaysia – spread out in 31 teams competed this year.
MIHF president Lee Hwa Beng said the international friendly has been receiving growing participation where 11 of the 31 teams were Malaysian teams. There is also an open category for women ice hockey players. For the first time ever, women players will get a chance to compete in the Challenge Cup of Asia in April 2016 organised by the International Ice Hockey Federation.
Due to overwhelming response, they even had to turn away some entries for the Under 11 category.
It was not just a ground to compete against one another as it was a platform to put training to the test and improve on performance.
“At an event like this, local players get to meet and play with those from different countries, and this is also where we scout for talents for the national team,”said Lee.
This year’s tournament was more exciting as the sport has been accepted into the 2017 SEA Games to be held in Kuala Lumpur, he added.
“We’re excited as ice hockey is finally in the SEA Games and this gives a chance to get proper coaches, structure trainings which in the long run will get more people interested in the sport,”he said.
Apart from organising tournaments which generate a larger response, the MIHF also conducts development programmes for players, conduct training sessions and also scout for talents.
It’s secretary Susan Loh said the only problem they face is the lack of facilities for training.
Aside from the international tournament, MIHF also has a local league with participation from 15 teams.
Loh said the ability for them to organise such tournaments for local and international games was from the support of the International Ice Hockey Federation.
Ice hockey has also been gaining increasing public interest despite being in a tropical country with nurturing by the Olympic Council of Malaysia and the Youth and Sports Ministry.
The future of ice hockey in Malaysia has not been drawn out but Loh hoped to develop more skilled coaches, game officials by working together with the IHF and that the Malaysian team would get to one day participate in the Winter Olympics.
Loh added that for now, a national development camp would be up and running in October to prepare the players for the SEA Games.
There will be 40 players who will undergo a selection process where a final 20 players will be selected.
To that, MIHF youth development officer Hisham Yahaya who is also involved with the formation of the nation’s first ice hockey team said, “We are identifying talents for the 2017 SEA Games during the tournament and we will commence a two-year training programme leading up to the games.
“Part of that training includes a series of local and international tournaments as well as training camps so they can mature in time for the SEA Games.
“Looking at the teams from other countries, especially those taking part in the SEA Games, we found that they too are preparing their junior players so we are strategising our plans to ensure we can stay competitive,” he said.
His focus is on the juniors aged 14 so they are able to take part when they turn 16 in 2017 as well as those currently above 16.
“I’m impressed with the performance of the younger boys. They used to get beaten by Singapore but this time around we beat our neighbours whose team consisted mostlyof expatriate youths from America and Canada,” said Hisham.
“In that respect, we have basically closed the gap and surpassed expectations in some departments.
“We have moved to a competitive mode and away from the recreational ice hockey three to four years ago.
Hisham believes that the future of Malaysian Ice Hockey is in the under 13 and under 16 youths.
The under 16 team did the MIHF proud after a scintillating final against Thailand’s Canstar Rangers when they came back from a 4-2 deficit after the first period to score six goals in the last two periods to clinch first place with a 8-6 victory.
The under 13 boys were expected to be in the finals but failed to progress after losing in a penalty shootout in the semifinals against the Singapore Ice Dragons.
Hisham admitted to feeling a bit disappointed but he said it was more important to put in the effort to get them ready for future categories.
The invitational, which saw teams from six countries showcase their talents at the Sunway Pyramid ice rink, saw 69 games played over four days.
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