Phnom Penh, Cambodia (2 January 2011)
Cambodian hockey has remained silent for many years, but now it is making comeback. Although inactive since 2006, Cambodian hockey players continued their activities by playing friendly tournaments with Japanese counterparts every year under informal condition.
The Cambodia Hockey Federation was established again at the end of year 2010 under the guidance of Mr. Vath Cahamroeun and eleven other members.
Mr. Vath Chamroeun, Secretary General of the National Olympic Committee of Cambodia (NOCC) and president of Cambodian Hockey Federation (CHF), emphasized that hockey has come to the spotlight again.
“This sport was inactive for years, he said. “We need to reorganize it again and set up the members with responsible tasks.”
In a comment to The Southeast Asia Weekly, he said, “Hockey sport is a team sport, like football, which has eleven members [on] each side. And it is different from individual sport [because] it needs a team spirit in order to run…smoothly and win.”
In order to build up hockey as strong sport in Cambodia, the Cambodia Hockey Federation has to implement strategies that promote appreciation of sport. Moreover, the federation needs to re-build the relationship with international organization such as Asian Hockey Federation and International Hockey Federation. One strategy is to develop Cambodia hockey athletes through specialized training and incorporating new techniques. The Federation also plans to organize a national hockey championship to raise the profile of the sport, increase the number of athletes, and strengthen the competitiveness of athletes.
“We are still young in everything, so we need to try hard to work together and help each other in order to build…the good relationship[s] between teams, ability and level of competition,” he said.
He also noted that, at end of February this year, Cambodian Hockey Federation will organize a friendly tournament and invite teams to compete from Japan and Thailand as well as a veteran team from Pakistan, which has several notable players who have retired.
Asif Maqsood Rana also shred some insight, saying that the hockey was brought to Cambodia since 2002. In 2003, Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport (MoEYS) reorganized Hockey Federation, which has since then become a member of International Hockey Federation and Asian Hockey Federation.
The hockey is one of Olympic discipline, which has three kinds: ice hockey, field hockey and roller hockey. Cambodia hockey players have not been able to participate in several international events because the sport have been inactive in the country, they have been able to play friendly hockey matches with Japanese players since 2003, according to Mr. Rana.
Currently, there are more than 50 Cambodian hockey athletes in training, with fifteen athletes being female hockey players. Many of these players have become expert athletes.
Mr. Rana continue to say that the roots of hockey are buried deep in antiquity. Historical records show that a crude form of hockey was played in Egypt and in Ethiopia a few thousand years ago. Moreover, archeological evidence provides evidence that a form of the game was played by the Romans and Greeks, as well as by the Aztec Indians.
The modern game of hockey evolved in England in the mid-18th century, primarily around schools. The first Olympic Hockey Competition for men was held in London in 1908 with England, Ireland and Scotland competing separately, he said, adding that after having made its first appearance in the 1908 Games, hockey was in 1920 in Antwerp before being omitted again in Paris in 1924.
He noted that the Paris organizers refused to include hockey on the basis that the sport had no International Federation. Hockey had made its first steps toward an international federation when in 1909 when the Hockey Association in England and the Belgium Hockey Association agreed to mutually recognize each other to regulate international hockey relations. The French Association followed soon after, but this was not considered sufficient. Hockey took its most important step forward in 1924 when the International Hockey Federation, the world governing body for the sport, was founded in Paris under the initiative of Frenchman, Paul Léautey. Mr. Léautey, who would become the first President of the FIH, was motivated to action following hockey's omission from the program of the 1924 Paris Games.
By S.L (Vol.5, Issue 2, SEAW)
No comments:
Post a Comment