Singapore, Thailand & Japan were the winners on Day 1 of the Asia Oceania WFC 2019 qualifications. Against Malaysia, Singapore was clearly the better of the teams although they did not manage to dominate the scoring, winning with only 5-2. Thailand were far stronger than New Zealand close to goal and won 6-1, but without the Kiwi goalkeeper, Marie Hegarty, making 34 saves the score could’ve been much more. The last game was Korea v Japan and that ended 10-1 for Japan. The Japanese players showed very good individual technical skills – sharp passing, good ball control, and strong shots on goal.

Match reports for all games, standings and player statistics can be found here

Playing your first international is always fun and lots of players make their international debuts at WFC qualification events, but even more fun is when you score your first international goal. Today some first-time goal scorers were: Nordiana Yeari (SGP), Aliisa Syrjaenen  (THA), Esther Chan (NZL), Yunji Kim (KOR),

As well as the Floorball, spectators were treated to an Opening Ceremony which featured Thai boxing and a sword fight where the sparks flew…literally. AOFC and Thailand Floorball President, Dato Seri’ Chaiyapak Siriwat and Air Marshall Pichai Kamentchan, Chairman of the local organising committee, both welcomed the teams.