S'pore go down battling

A heroic display by Singapore was not enough to overcome Russia and salvage their bid to make the knockout stages of the World University Floorball Championships yesterday.

The hosts' men's team went down 4-6 at the OCBC Arena, which killed off their hopes of qualifying from their group.

In contrast to their 37-0 thrashing of China in the morning, the Singapore team got off to a slow start against Russia and were 0-3 behind by the beginning of the second period.

But a rousing finale spearheaded by impressive saves from goalkeeper Yeo Kai Xiang meant Russia were made to sweat for their victory.

Coach R. Saravanan said: "I am very happy. The performance was definitely much better than expected, with Russia being such a strong team."

Although disappointed with the result, Yeo, 26, credited the 700-strong crowd for the team's performance.

He said: "The crowd was much louder compared to the previous games. They played a part in getting us psyched up."

Russian defender Valentin Saranskiy admitted the game was harder than expected.

The result leaves Singapore second in the group with four points, two behind Russia who play China.

Singapore will play South Korea in their last group game as they look to consolidate second spot.

The Republic's women defeated Malaysia 8-0.

They will look to continue their winning ways against Japan.

This article was first published on JUNE 20, 2014.
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