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Straits Times
2 days ago
- Sport
- Straits Times
Singapore regain Asia Oceania Floorball Confederation Cup with last-gasp win over Thailand
The Singapore men's floorball team lifting their trophy after winning the Asia Oceania Floorball Confederation Cup on June 5. PHOTO: AOFC SINGAPORE – Maintaining a zero-zero mindset made heroes of the Singapore men's floorball team, as they reclaimed the Asia Oceania Floorball Confederation (AOFC) Cup with a last-gasp 8-7 win over archrivals Thailand in the final on June 5. Now the young outfit are hoping that success at the fourth edition of the tournament in Jiangxi, China, will be a springboard to more silverware at the Dec 9-20 SEA Games in Thailand. Singapore coach Sonia Chia was heartened by the spirit of the squad, whose average age is 23, as they clawed their way back from a four-goal deficit in the final at the Yudu Sports Centre. The 41-year-old said: 'We had a good start, and then it didn't go as well, but we managed to come back. 'The more important thing is how we actually played in the match, given that this is one of the youngest teams that we've ever sent.' World No. 17 Singapore had led 2-0 in three minutes through goals from defenders Gerald Tan and Thaddeus Tan. But a hat-trick from Pheeraphong Khambanlue helped the 13th-ranked Thais turn the tables, as they led 7-4 in the second period, during which forwards Ethan Teoh and Foo Jun Wei narrowed the deficit for the Republic. Adopting the mentality that the score is always 0-0 whether leading or trailing, Singapore continued the comeback in the final period. Defender Keanen Poon, centre Dzafir Ilhan Nizam and Foo made it 7-7, before defender Ethan Wong slotted home the winner with only seconds left to spark wild celebrations. This was Singapore's first competitive win over Thailand since the second AOFC Cup in 2019, when they beat an experimental Thai side 17-1 in the final. Their last competitive win before that was a 5-2 victory in the world championship qualifiers in 2016, when Chia was also the head coach. The Thais had defeated the Republic several times since, including the third AOFC Cup in 2023 in Singapore, where they won 4-2 in the final. They had also beaten Singapore 9-1 and 11-7 in 2022, 4-3 en route to winning the 2023 SEA Games and 10-1 at the world championship qualifiers in 2024. At the 2025 AOFC Cup, they beat Singapore 6-4 in their opening game on May 31. But Singapore won their remaining four matches (35-1 against Macau, 6-1 over China, 6-3 against South Korea, 30-1 over Hong Kong) to finish second, setting up the final against Thailand, who topped the six-team pool with a perfect record. Captain Tan, 26, believes that their mentality had given them the edge in the final. He said: 'We started really well, even better than our first game... but this time around, we were the ones who took the upper hand. It was really exciting... and kudos to the boys for giving their all and never giving up. 'We were all very prepared for this scenario. 'At the airport before we left for the tournament, we came together and went through the objectives, one of it being a 0-0 mindset all the way until the final whistle. 'That means whether we are trailing or leading, we will not be complacent or defeated before the game even ends.' Singapore defender Foo Jun Wei helping to launch an attack against Thailand. PHOTO: AOFC Both coach and captain noted that some of the Thais are playing for Swedish clubs. They include forwards Lukas Huebinette, Arwid Per Makinen, Pawat Thaidit and Oscar Snell. While some of them may not be in the top division, Tan added: 'The difference in level is very, very evident when you compare it to the Singapore league.' Turning his sights to the SEA Games, Tan noted that there will be another strong contender for gold in world No. 12 Philippines, who did not compete in the AOFC Cup as they are preparing for the World Games in Chengdu in August. The last two times that floorball was contested at the SEA Games, the Singapore men's team won a silver (2019) and a bronze (2023). He added: '(The Philippines are) one of our toughest opponents that we will face at the SEA Games, among the other opponents that we'll be facing. 'But at the end of the day, at least for Singapore, we want to have the heart of a lion and go for the win. A win is possible, but most importantly, we have to overcome our previous defeats.' While Thailand coach Kenneth Koh said some of the refereeing calls during the final were 'dubious', the Singaporean congratulated his compatriots on the victory. He said: 'It was an exciting and intense final for both the young teams that was otherwise marred by some dubious refereeing calls very, very late into the game. 'Singapore took full advantage of this and managed to score the deciding goal with less than a minute remaining.' He added that a 10-day training camp in Sweden in July has been planned and a couple more are on the cards ahead of the SEA Games, as the Thais seek to win a third gold on the trot. Melvyn Teoh is a sports journalist at The Straits Times. Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
CNA
23-05-2025
- Entertainment
- CNA
CNA938 Rewind - 'That's not me!' Can a LinkedIn gaffe hurt your career?
CNA938 Rewind A woman has gone viral for a LinkedIn post tagging former DBS CEO Piyush Gupta, claiming they'd met in Bali – except it wasn't him. How might habits relating to publishing on LinkedIn hurt your career and reputation, instead of helping it? And how can you recover from such gaffes? Andrea Heng and Hairianto Diman speak with Gerald Tan, Projects Director, Avodah People Solutions, to find out.
CNA
18-05-2025
- Business
- CNA
Work It Podcast: Retrenched? Here's how the new jobs support scheme can help you
The recently launched SkillsFuture Jobseeker Support Scheme aims to help those who have been retrenched with tiered monthly cash payments. Lynn Ng, assistant chief executive of Workforce Singapore, explains how to tap into the scheme. Here's an excerpt from the conversation: Gerald Tan, host: One of the things that I often face when I share about the (SkillsFuture Jobseeker Support) Scheme with our podcast guests, (they will) say: 'I don't qualify because my salary is beyond that S$5,000 mark.' But I know of some other people who said: 'You know what? I feel like I've been involuntarily let go, but it was not official.' They were maybe asked to quit, or were told of the (retrenchment), and then they were given the option to resign on their own because they said that the company is not doing well ... And then they did that, (but) they don't have that official retrenchment letter per se. So for these groups of people, would there be a possibility that the scheme could include such cases in future or even now? Lynn Ng, assistant chief executive of Workforce Singapore (WSG): So Gerald has pointed out a very key implementation issue that we face as well, which is that some individuals are unable to show proof that they have been involuntarily let go. For example, their contract was terminated, it was not renewed by the employer, even though the employer had promised that the contract would be renewed. So in these instances, we are very flexible in our implementation, even if there is no official letter. If there is some form of exchange, whether it's text or email, we are prepared to accept that it can just be a screenshot. It doesn't always have to be an official letter. It can also be a conversation that they have had with the HR, which they said had taken place. And if they provide us with the details of the HR or supervisor whom they have spoken with, we could do a verification with them that it was indeed the intent of the individual to stay on, but the company could not continue to provide the employment. Yes, we would accept the individual into the scheme. So we are very flexible with it. We are fully aware that there are practical challenges and official letters are not always possible to get. But the basic requirements that we will need is some form of contact from the applicant about who we can verify the information with. Otherwise, if there's absolutely no documentation at all, we will not be able to distinguish between those who have resigned on their own and those who have resigned against their wishes.
