Women Make World Championships Of Underwater Hockey

The Republic's women's underwater hockey team have booked their place in the world championships for a third time, after previously gaining direct entry in 2016 and 2023.

- Melvyn Teoh

This time, they had to earn their place through a qualifying competition, the inaugural Asia/Oceania Intercontinental Championships in Malaysia, where they clinched a bronze medal by defeating the Philippines 5-1 in the third-place play-off on Aug 9.

At the Arena Sukan in Kuala Lumpur, Singapore beat Malaysia 7-0 and the Philippines 3-2 in the round-robin group stage of the women's elite category, but lost to Australia (11-0) and New Zealand (11-0) to be seeded third out of five teams.

After losing 12-0 to second-seeded Australia in the semi-finals, the Republic won the third-place play-off via goals from Pin Cheoh, Pamela Loh, Christina Tham, Lim Min and Liu Huiling, with Margarita Diaz replying for the Philippines.

New Zealand won the gold by defeating Australia 1-0 in the final, with Singapore clinching the third and final berth for the world championships, which are likely to be held in 2027 with the venue to be announced.