Shah
Alam in Selangor, Malaysia was the setting for 18 men’s youth and junior games
last week as the IHF Trophy Asia Zone IB took place in the state capital
featuring teams from Indonesia (INA), Thailand (THA), Philippines (PHI) and
Singapore (SGP) along with hosts Malaysia (MAS).
In
the youth competition, for players born on or after January 1, 2000, Thailand
won all of their matches in the group stage (vs PHI 40:22, vs MAS 27:22, vs INA
38:25) before defeating Philippines for the second time, 38:28 in the final.
The
junior competition (for those born on or after January 1, 1998) saw teams compete
in a round-robin tournament with the team finishing top winning the title. That
team was Thailand as they, again, won all of their games (vs SGP 42:18, vs INA
43:21, vs PHI 40:19 and vs MAS 41:21) to take the regional honours.
Both
Thailand teams now advance to the IHF Trophy Asia Continental Phase, to be held
later in the year.
For
Head Coach of the Philippines Handball Federation, Jana Franquelli, the results
of their youth team surpassed their pre-tournament expectations and provides
hope for future progression.
“We
started with a goal of a podium finish, but things went our way and made the
finals,” she said to local media after the event. “We had our chances against
Thailand in the final but unfortunately fell short.”
“We
have proven we can contend with the best of the region and in time I am
confident we can eventually bring home the gold,” added Philippines Handball
Federation Secretary General Dr Ernesto Jay Adalem.
FINAL RANKING
Youth
Competition
1
Thailand
2
Philippines
3
Malaysia
4
Indonesia
Junior
Competition
1
Thailand
2
Malaysia
3
Singapore
4
Indonesia
5
Philippines
RESULTS
Tuesday 17 April
Youth
Competition
INA
vs MAS 17:33
THA
vs PHI 40:22
Junior
Competition
SGP vs MAS 29:27
PHI vs INA 25:34
Wednesday 18 April
Youth
Competition
PHI
vs INA 40:25
MAS
vs THA 22:27
Junior
Competition
MAS
vs PHI 39:18
SGP
vs THA 18:42
Thursday 19 April
Youth
Competition
INA
vs THA 25:38
MAS
vs PHI 29:30
Junior
Competition
THA
vs INA 43:21
PHI
vs SGP 22:26
Friday 20 April
Youth
Competition
Bronze:
MAS vs INA 28:15
Junior
Competition
THA
vs PHI 40:19
INA
vs MAS 26:33
Saturday 21 April
Youth
Competition
Final:
THA vs PHI 38:28
Junior
Competition
INA
vs SGP 26:24
MAS
vs THA 21:41