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, goalkeeper Felissa Lai shares her joy of competing in the age of the Covid-19 pandemic, and the value of hard work.

The memory is still fresh in her mind: one penalty corner after another, one shot after another – all repelled, keeping Singapore well in the hunt in the playoff for a shot to finish fifth at the Women’s Asia Cup.

And for almost the entire 60 minutes, Felissa Lai and her Singapore women kept regional rivals Thailand at bay, but the penalty corner right at the seconds before the final whistle proved one too many. Thailand’s Natthakarn Aunjai scored to consign the Singapore women to face Indonesia in a playoff for seventh spot at the tournament – a match the Republic did win.

But for goalkeeper Felissa Lai, it remained a case of what could have been.

“It was an exciting match but we could have done better as a team,” the 30-year-old said matter-of-factly.

Photo Credit (Asia Hockey Federation)

A goalkeeper always stands out on the hockey pitch, with helmet, kickers and a requisite level of insanity to stand with eyes wide open as the ball rockets goalward – and to intentionally put body on the trajectory of said projectile.

Felissa did stand out, but it was her outstanding performance that earned her the player of the match award against Thailand, even as her team fell to that final penalty corner.

“I remember giving away penalty corner after penalty corner, but still managing to hold our ground. We were keeping the score at zero-zero for most of the game to give the team a chance – which also meant that I am doing my job right – but I have to admit that despite the award, losing the match was disappointing,” she said.

Singapore went on to beat Indonesia 2-1 in the playoff for seventh spot at the Asia Cup, with performances at the tournament seeing the team climb to seventh in Asia, a creditable performance given the pandemic-enforced challenges faced by the team.

“Being able to finally play a competitive match after two years made this tournament quite special, and for me the key takeaway was how important it is for a team to work together and play as a unit instead of just a group of individual players,” she said.

And the memory of the Thailand match will continue to burn strong, a vindication of work put in, and a reminder that commitment will drive performance, even if it does not always come with the desired results.

“Being awarded player of the match would be my best memory of the Asia Cup – it was the first time I’ve received such an award,” said Felissa.

“Even though it was just for a single match, it gave me a sense of achievement and vindication that all the time put into training does pay off.”