- Title: Tropical Malaysia chases Winter Olympics dream
- Date: 3rd August 2017
- Summary: KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA (RECENT - JULY 31, 2017) (REUTERS) COMPLEX UNDER CONSTRUCTION, WHERE AN OLYMPIC-SIZED ICE RINK HAS BEEN NEWLY BUILT SIGN READING (English): "EMPIRE CITY" VARIOUS OF COMPLEX UNDER CONSTRUCTION KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA (RECENT - JULY 18, 2017) (REUTERS) HALLWAY INSIDE ICE RINK, WITH BANNERS ADVERTISING THE 2017 SOUTHEAST ASIAN (SEA) GAMES BANNER READING (English) "KUALA LUMPUR 2017, 29TH SEA GAMES" KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA (RECENT - JULY 21, 2017) (REUTERS) MALAYSIA ICE HOCKEY TEAM CLIMBING OVER ICE RINK BARRIER, WALKING THROUGH GATE ONTO ICE RINK VARIOUS OF MALAYSIA ICE HOCKEY TEAM ON ICE PLAYERS STANDING ON SIDE OF ICE RINK TEAM PRACTICING PLAYER LOOKING ON PLAYER DEFENDING GOAL KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA (RECENT - JULY 18, 2017) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF ICE HOCKEY STICKS RESTING AGAINST WALL TEAM MEMBERS GETTING READY IN CHANGING ROOM ICE HOCKEY GLOVES, PROTECTIVE GEAR ON FLOOR VARIOUS OF MALAYSIAN ICE HOCKEY PLAYER KHOO SENG CHEE PUTTING ON TEAM KIT WITH MALAYSIAN FLAG ON IT (SOUNDBITE) (English) MALAYSIAN ICE HOCKEY PLAYER, KHOO SENG CHEE, SAYING: "Confident? Yes of course, you always go in to war thinking of winning. But realistically, it's going to be tough, but definitely.... So I was saying that if we play Thailand 10 times, you'll probably lose eight times, or seven times, and we have to make the SEA Games that two to three times that we win for many reasons - one is for ourselves, many of the old players are retiring after this, including myself, and it's also for the first time it being in Malaysia, we just want to make it gold to help the future generation, so that's very important for us." KHOO SITTING DURING INTERVIEW (SOUNDBITE) (English) MALAYSIAN ICE HOCKEY PLAYER, KHOO SENG CHEE, SAYING: "We are doing really well right now, but of course leading up to it, there was lots of bumps and humps here and there, a lot of arguments here and there. But eventually it brought us closer." VARIOUS OF MALAYSIAN ICE HOCKEY TEAM'S COACH KRISTOF KOVAGO ON ICE RINK AS PLAYERS PRACTICE (SOUNDBITE) (English) MALAYSIA ICE HOCKEY COACH, KRISTOF KOVAGO, SAYING; "Obviously we had to work on the bad habits first, we had to fix the bad habits - we still have a couple of them, but of course one year is not so much time to be able to fix all the problems, so we just went the most important ones. So we fixed those mistakes first, and we try to make them into a team now." REPORTER ASKING: "Do they look like a team now?" "I must admit not yet, but I think in the next two weeks or three weeks, we're going to be able to look like a team." KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA (RECENT - JULY 31, 2017) (REUTERS) MERDAKA SQUARE IN SUN TROPICAL PALM TREE, MALAYSIA'S NATIONAL FLAG BLOWING IN WIND PEOPLE WALKING PAST WITH UMBRELLAS TO SHIELD THEM FROM SUN KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA (RECENT - JULY 19, 2017) (REUTERS) POSTER READING (English): "KUALA LUMPUR 2017, 29TH SEA GAMES, 9TH ASEAN PARA GAMES" (SOUNDBITE) (English) KUALA LUMPUR RESIDENT, YOM NURUL AKMA, SAYING: "I think the steps taken by the government of Malaysia to actually host, to incorporate that in, the SEA Games, I think it's a brilliant move. It also gives us the opportunity to actually venture into new sports. For example, we have always been focused on, you know, so-called conventional badminton, football, et cetera... but I think this time around, it's a new taste, it's a new flavour. We can actually get more Malaysians to be part of these sport itself." KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA (RECENT - JULY 19, 2017) (REUTERS) ICE RINK MONITOR SHOWING "MY NISS, MALAYSIA ICE SKATING STADIUM, EMPIRE CITY MALAYSIA" MAN DRIVING ICE RESURFACING MACHINE ACROSS ICE RINK PRESIDENT OF THE ICE SKATING ASSOCIATION OF MALAYSIA, MOHD FADZLI JOHAN, LOOKING AT ICE SKATE BLADE MOHD FADZLI TALKING IT PLAYER AS HE PUTS PROTECTOR ON ICE SKATES (SOUNDBITE) (English) PRESIDENT OF THE ICE SKATING ASSOCIATION OF MALAYSIA, MOHD FADZLI JOHAN, SAYING: "We first we have to get the blessing from the International Skating Union because they thought that this will be the Asian Winter Games. I said 'no this is South East Asian Games, it’s a Summer Games'. Got to get the endorsement from the Asian Skating Union, then finally I had to get the agreement from all the presidents of the associations in South East Asia."
- Embargoed: 17th August 2017 02:00
- Keywords: Southeast Asian Games SEA Games Winter Olympics ice hockey tropical weather ice hockey in Malaysia sports
- Location: KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA
- City: KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA
- Country: Malaysia
- Topics: Ice Hockey,Sport
- Reuters ID: LVA0016SLQRSV
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: In the middle of a sprawling construction site, over a dozen young Malaysian men, sporting ice skates and protective gear, descend onto an indoor skating rink to do their morning drills amid a mist of condensation.
They're in equatorial Malaysia, where it is summer all year long, and training flat out for the debut of winter sports at the biennial Southeast Asian (SEA) Games, which will be hosted by their home country from August 19 to 30.
The team comprises of young professionals and school leavers, all of whom have been training full time over the past month.
"Confident? Yes of course, you always go in to war thinking of winning," said Khoo Seng Chee, 31, a senior member of the team who has played the game since he was 14.
With Khoo and many others soon retiring from the sport, and with it being the first time ice hockey has been recognised as an event in the SEA Games, the team are eager to make their mark. "We just want to make it gold to help the future generation, so that's very important for us."
Many of the players, including Khoo, taught themselves how to play by watching online tutorials and mimicking moves they saw in movies like "The Mighty Ducks" and "Cool Runnings".
The team's new coach, Kristof Kovago, said preparations had been tough, and they still had a way to go before being ready. "Of course one year is not so much time to be able to fix all the problems, so we just went the most important ones."
The entry of winter sports in the SEA Games raised eyebrows when it was announced in early 2016 as none of the countries in the region have naturally occurring snow and ice.
Mohd Fadzli Johan, the president of the Ice Skating Association of Malaysia, said it was an uphill battle getting approval.
The turning point came when they managed to convince a property developer to include a 30 million ringgit ($7.01 million) ice skating facility with an Olympic-sized rink in their latest project in Kuala Lumpur.
This year, most of the 11 countries competing in the Games are expected to send athletes for the three winter sports events - ice hockey, short-track speed skating and figure skating.
"It's a new taste, it's a new flavour. We can actually get more Malaysians to be part of these sport," said a Kuala Lumpur resident, Yom Nurul Akma.
With the facilities in place and increased local exposure at the SEA Games, Mohd Fadzli thinks Malaysia is getting closer to the ultimate goal of a Winter Olympics debut. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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