In this special series, we look back at the 2022 Women’s Asia Cup, through the lenses of those in the Singapore camp, diving deeper into their lived experiences at the tournament.
In this piece, we speak with Toh Limin, who believes she has brought home from Muscat more than just a few sweet memories, but valuable lessons for both hockey, and for life.
That goal she scored against India will remain seared in her memory, but Toh Limin returned from the 2022 Women’s Asia Cup with much more than a rare goal and a player of the match award against a team that finished fourth at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
The 33-year-old defender left the Omani capital of Muscat with a new perspective of Singapore women’s hockey.
“Towards the end of the tournament, we realised that we were better than what we thought we were,” she said of a tourney that saw the Singapore women finish seventh of eight teams at Asia’s top table, a performance that saw the Republic climb one spot to seventh in the Asian standings.
Photo Credit (Asia Hockey Federation)
Singapore fell 9-1 to India, 6-0 to Asian Champions Trophy winners Japan, 2-0 to Southeast Asian powerhouse Malaysia, and lost 1-0 to Thailand before beating Indonesia 2-1 to secure seventh spot at the Asia Cup.
“We messed up the Thailand game, but I think we came back strongly in the Indonesia game showing that we can attack if we commit to it. We managed to string passes and work things out and if we had that consistency throughout the competition, I honestly feel that we could have been – and can be – a lot better as a team,” she said.
But the challenges of this day and age – and the importance of keeping up with the modern game – did not elude her.
“Travelling during this pandemic was really a hassle, along with taking care of hygiene issues to make sure we stayed safe were key priorities, but the fact that the tournament was completed just shows that it can be done,” said Limin.
“But in terms of competition on the pitch, teams have gone ahead of us, at least based on the previous Asia Cup tournaments I’ve played in. The game of hockey has changed tremendously, and we must make sure we keep pace.”
Reflecting on the tournament, Limin is certain that Singapore’s women could have done better in Muscat.
“We did not play practice matches in the lead up to the tournament, so we didn’t have experience in these sorts of game situations to handle what we were to face.
Photo Credit (Asia Hockey Federation)
“During the India game, we tried to encourage each other to keep and hold the ball longer rather than losing it, but we could have done better both in terms of individual play and tactical work.
“But I’m confident that if we continue to put in the work as we have tried our best to in the lead-up to the Asia Cup we can continue to improve,” said Limin, who was certain that she will continue to regale friends and family with stories of the day she scored a goal against mighty India.
Photo Credit (Asia Hockey Federation)
“It was meant as a set piece that didn’t quite work out as we had planned, but scoring that goal and being awarded the player of the match was special,” she said.
“India did after all finish fourth at the Olympics, and few Singaporeans can say that they’ve scored against a team like that.”
