Two Sarawakians made the state proud as they represented Malaysia, alongside the their team members from other states, in the Asia Oceania Qualifications for the Women’s World Floorball Championships (WWFC) 2019 held at the Huamark Indoor Stadium, Thailand from January 27 to February 1.
The Malaysian team managed to place in the top five out of eight, which include teams from Australia, Thailand, New Zealand, Philippines, Japan, Singapore, and the Republic of Korea.
Days after their return from the international arena, New Sarawak Tribune managed to get in touch with the two ladies, Janeter Kadir and Ivana Sonia Beriak for an insightful interview pertaining to their recent competition.
Ivana Sonia Beriak
Ivana, who has a Bachelor Degree in Sports Science from University Malaya has had an experience with Floorball since 2015. Previously, the 25-year-old was involved in Hockey and had represented Sarawak from 2010 to 2014 in the Sukan Malaysia (SUKMA) games. When asked of her experience throughout the training and competition prior to her recent tournament, the Physical Education teacher answered, “Throughout the training, we faced many obstacles such as the lack of time to train together as a team. This was because it was hard to gather all the players together for training. Our training centre was located at IM4U Puchong in Selangor. Nonetheless, we managed to train with the time given.”
She also revealed that becoming an athlete while having a full-time job is hard due to its commitment. However, she managed to divide her time.
As the days approach, Ivana confessed to feeling nervous despite it not being her first international tournament. “But to reduce my nervousness, I would listen to music to boost my spirit, and to ensure that I stay focus. Even during the game, I felt slightly nervous, but I managed to control it. Throughout it all, I tried to focus on the coach’s objectives and tactics to make sure I don’t make silly mistakes”.
Nevertheless, the Iban lass was proud of the Malaysian team’s effort. “I believe our women national team had made history whereby we managed to obtain fifth place against the other strong teams during the WWFC.”
The Malaysian team managed to beat Korea 8 – 6 and got a draw against Japan 4 – 4, a country that is known for sending strong teams to the Floorball floor. To get the fifth placing, the Malaysian team went up against New Zealand and won at 5 – 4.
Ivana who hails from Kota Samarahan, Sarawak disclosed that tournaments such as this taught her to not give up, and always be patient. “It also trained my focus in every task and objectives”.
Her toughest moment this time though was the lack of sponsorship in terms of monies and support from the sports council. However, moments like this did not discourage her, as she and her team were able to overcome the obstacles.
Being an experienced sportswoman, Ivana’s history in international tournaments can be dated back to 2015. She had won third place in the Sea Games Singapore, seventh place in the WFCQ New Zealand 2017, and AOFC Singapore in 2018 where she snagged the fourth place.
In the future, she hopes to be able to help promote and develop new players for Floorball around the nation, especially in Sarawak. Ivana is also aiming to play in more World Floorball Championships, as well as to participate and bring home a medal from the upcoming Sea Games Philippines this year.
Janeter Kadir
Turning 25 this year, Janeter was a state hockey player representing Sarawak SUKMA Games in 2010 to 2014 before she sashayed herself into the world of Floorball. The Miri lass has been involved in the sport for several years and had been practising in Miri before she was chosen to represent Malaysia in the Thailand tournament recently. The tournament was her first ever international appearance.
Living in Miri, and working in the rural area of Baram, Janeter’s only barrier was to attend the national training camp at Kuala Lumpur. “Though it was quite difficult for me, my will to play for my country was strong, hence I would fly to Kuala Lumpur to join the training every weekend. Some of us in the team have full-time jobs, thus we had to sacrifice our time to join the training together.”
She also disclosed that while other countries have been training and practising together for a while, the Malaysian team only trained during the weekends prior to the tournament. But even so, Janeter was still happy and proud of their fifth place achievement. “We nearly beaten Thailand but they were a very strong team. The score was 1 – 1 at regulation time, but we were given an extra time to score.” Janeter informed that the team that manages to score first will place fourth. Unfortunately, the Malaysian team was not able to.
According to Janeter, it was a tough match against Thailand.
The feeling she had garnered was mostly nervousness as it was her first time. But it was also a dream come true for her as she was able to play alongside Ivana Sonia to represent both Sarawak and Malaysia. “Before and during the competition, it taught me to be humble, and I was truly proud to be able to represent Malaysia.”
When asked what is in her future sights, Janeter said that she is not looking at stopping her Floorball training as she is hoping to improve herself for the upcoming tournaments.
The WWFC held in Thailand witnessed four teams of different countries advancing to the next tournament, World Women Championship 2019 that will be held in Switzerland. The teams that qualified are Australia, Japan, Thailand and Singapore.
Floorball originated from Sweden and was first introduced in Malaysia in 2002 at University Malaya. In Sarawak, Floorball was introduced to the players here in 2014 at I-Systems College, Miri. The sport requires five players in the field with each equipped with a stick to shoot the ball with.
Those interested to know more about Floorball in Sarawak can contact Farrell at 017-8671203, or visit the ‘Floorball Sarawak’ community page on Facebook.
