Happy Losers: the Only Two Subtropical Sides Enjoying Fight on Ice Hockey

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Friday, January 10, 2003

Happy Losers: the Only Two Subtropical Sides Enjoying Fight on Ice Hockey

Disappointment, an expression usually seen on losers' face, is not the emotion haunting the defeated ice hockey players from Hong Kong and Macao.

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Disappointment, an expression usually seen on losers' face, is not the emotion haunting the defeated ice hockey players from Hong Kong and Macao.

All the teams competing here in the men's ice hockey tournament of the 10th National Winter Games are from northern China, except Hong Kong and Macao, coming all the way here from the southern tip of the Chinese mainland.

The two subtropical sides are obviously minnows compared to the other five professional teams in either strength or experience. Macao is making its debut in this Games while Hong Kong is enjoying the games for the second time.

Aware of their deficit, Macao expected nothing at all heading into the tournament but to participate and entertain themselves.

Different from Macao, which boasts only one amateur team in the region, Hong Kong hoped for at least a victory as No. 17 Chris Bat,while watching Macao's match against Jiamusi the day before their meeting, said: "They are our only chance to win."

They did it. After suffering four consecutive heavy losses, Hong Kong stormed into the clash against Macao and handed their opponents a fiasco of 30-1, the largest deficit by far in the competition.

"One goal, one goal is our ultimate goal for this tournament," the head coach of Macao Justin Cheang said, with his right forefinger sticking out, during the break of their opening match, in which they were hammered 21-0 by Qiqihar, one of the two favorites for the title.

Macao have surpassed their own expectation by one more goal so far, with the first-ever one scored against Jiamusi.

Side of high school students

Of the 20-men side, which was temporarily organized in such a hurry that it missed the deadline of registration for the Games but managed to make their debut with a special permission from the State General Administration of Sport, the youngest player is a 17-year-old high school boy.

According to Cheang Gwanfai, the team leader, about half of the players in the team are students, with a majority from high school.

For those boys, how many goals conceded are certainly not the main concern.

"All the boys are happy to be here since most of them are playing on a standard rink for the first time." Cheang said.

"Of course I felt a bit nervous at the gate, but I enjoyed the game," said Vince Chu, the 17-year-old goalkeeper in Hong Kong side.

Actually, all the Macao players are excited about their brand-new experience in a major tournament and the chance to compete with professional teams from other cities in China.

"We've got no pressure at all," Cheang told Xinhua at the dressing room, "For our players, the first thing is to participate, second to compete, to learn, and scores come last."

Cheang, 30, is also a key player and the oldest one in the short-of-hand side.

Enthusiasm for the competition

Both teams are not here for the medals, so they could enjoy thegame and fight on the rink with probably better understanding of the sport than any other side in the tournament.

No one cares much about the results, but they value the competition itself and the fighting spirit displayed in the matches.

"I love the challenge although it's a relatively dangerous game," Chu said.

Chu's parents had not been willing to let him travel with the team to Harbin since he would then have to work harder to catch upon his school courses after over two weeks' leave for the tournament.

After understanding how Chu cherished the opportunity, however, they finally granted him permission.

The Hong Kong players were probably more serious about the competition than Macao.

"It doesn't matter how many goals we concede, but we feel ashamed of the three let-in goals scored today, which is no different than an insult," a Hong Kong player said, unsatisfied about Qiqihar players' casual attitude in Tuesday's match.

Different from Macao's high-school student side, Hong Kong's team features topside employees in big companies and enterprises, who are mostly affiliates of ice hockey clubs in Hong Kong.

Despite daily heavy-load work, a majority of the Hong Kong players managed to train twice a week to prepare for the competition.

Disadvantages in common

Although ice hockey is becoming popular in Hong Kong and Macao,the lack of ice rinks remains the biggest disadvantage for the two cities to promote the sport.

Guo Jianquan, team leader of Hong Kong, said that only one rinkin Hong Kong can be used for ice hockey competition, with an area of one-third of the standard-sized rink.

In sharp contrast, the city boasts 20 ice hockey clubs and about 1,000 people who are playing the sport, according to Li Guang-Jing, president of the Hong Kong Winter Sports Federation.

Macao faces the same dilemma. While ice hockey is getting popular, ice rinks are in serious shortage.

To prepare for the Games, the Macao players insisted on training on the sole ice rink, also one-third of the standard one in size.

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