APAC 2009 Pyeong Taek, Korea: Play With Your Heart

Almost 6 months of gruelling training and everything ended just within the span of just 8 days.
Was it worth it?

Of course it was.

Yes people, I'm back in Malaysia, Tanahairku.
After spending a week in the very cold province of Pyeong Taek, Korea, for the Asia Pacific Floorball Championship (APAC) 2009, I'm back in the scorching weather of the Penang Island.
Ah, sweet.

As promised, here's an account of my experience in Korea of what I found significant and what I learnt along the way.

Upon arrival at the Seoul International Airport, we had to continue another two hours bus ride to Pyeong Taek (which is a much smaller city) where the competition was held.
Too bad it wasn't held in Seoul :(
Oh well.

Seoul International Airport, Korea.

Team Malaysia has landed!

We resided at the Kyonggi Tourist Hotel in Pyeong Taek. A little pricey but considering that they had already subsidised for us, it was actually quite reasonable and plus, the management was really good and the room was very comfy.
Two thumbs up for that! :)

Kyonggi Tourist Hotel

A Welcoming Banner!

Now, let's look at the weather forecast =P
The weather in Pyeong Taek was actually pretty cold. Most nights were below 0°C.
So yea, you can imagine how we Malaysians had to adapt to the dry cold air there. Apparently, it snowed one of the nights.
Pyeong Taek is actually a really small city known for its U.S military army base camp.

Pyeong Taek, Korea - A small cozy little city.

You see, we Malaysians love to do things a little different.
People usually celebrate and feast after the competition is over.
Well, we went to Korea with our Penang punya eat-all-out spirit.
Feast while we can!

See, even our coach is leading us by example :P

Korean food very the colourful... *drool*drool*
(But don't be fool by the noodles. It's cold!!! YUCKS!!!)

Although Korean food's nice and tasty, but ordering them can be a real pain.
Communication was a MAJOR problem for most of us and ordering a simple dish really test our sense of creativity.
But Malaysians being Malaysians, we MUST have our food.
Hence, we always find a way to get around it.

Team Malaysia memang boleh!

If there's one thing that stands out in this year's APAC is the fact that it was so efficiently organized.
Superb.
From the banner to the very accommodating personnels to the opening ceremony right up to the closing ceremony.
Korea Floorball Federation had the government's support, hence, the very detailed organization. They invested a lot in this campaign and made it look very professional and welcoming to everyone.
Job well done Korea!
The fact that it was so well organized made our stay and made the campaign a whole lot more exciting and memorable. Even our very own Team Malaysia's personnel, You-Lim Kim, was very friendly and helpful throughout our stay there.

You-Lim & I.

The opening ceremony was quite a big thing actually.
It was a pretty full fledge ceremony with performances, speeches and welcoming of each team.
We had to walk into the hall contingent by contingent and actually had to wave at the audiences! Weird man.
Team Malaysia had the shortest line amongst the rest.
We only had 10 players! The rest were at least twice our length! =p
Boy oh boy, was I proud to be Malaysian!

Team Malaysia at the opening Ceremony.


Officials and board of directors for APAC 2009.


The gigantic welcoming banner at the stadium.

The big question on everybody's head is still:

HOW DID THE MALAYSIAN TEAM FARE IN THE APAC CAMPAIGN?

Good news is that we finished 4th out of 6 teams. By far the best result in Malaysian floorball history :)
Results wise though, we could have done better in certain matches, especially the one against Korea.
Cis, that game we played really bad.
The results are as stated below:

25 Mar 09 (Wed) Jap - Mas 14-1

26 Mar 09 (Thu) Mas - Kor 2 - 11

27 Mar 09 (Fri) Mas - Aus 3 - 8

28 Mar 09 (Sat) Sin - Mas 5 - 7

29 Mar 2009 (Sun) Mas - Ind 25 - 0

On a more personal note, I think APAC 2009 is one of Malaysia's best outing as a team.
I say as a team because in spite of all the odds shoved against us, what not with key players pulling out literally at the very last second, we still clung onto one another.
We only had 11 players and with just two lines at a high level competition like APAC, it almost seemed ridiculous.
Even one of the Singaporean players asked us "Where are your other players?"...
My friend replied, "The rest in Malaysia lar"! :P

Donning the Malaysian jersey requires a certain level of pride balanced out with a sense of humility.

Being small in number is not always a bad thing.
On the contrary, it helped us bond a whole lot easier as a team.
Having been to three APACs, Korea being my third, it was clear that this particular recruited team built a deeper level of trust, commitment and relationship between one another. I guess the odds that went against us did in fact backlashed with some positive outcome in the end.
It built a certain level of mental strength indefinitely.

As an individual player, however, I must say I was somewhat disappointed with my performance. I think this time around I was more focussed towards the competition but was still struggling a whole lot with confidence issue. Obviously technically I'm not there yet but I know deep down inside, the root of the problem is my lack of self-believe and confidence.
Also, I believe the longer you play, the more you expect of yourself when it comes to competition. You want to deliver what's expected of you by your coach as well as your team mates.
On a brighter note though, I'm very much blessed by my team mates words of encouragement.
Thanks guys! :)

What have I learnt from APAC 2009?

If there's one thing I brought back (besides souvenirs and my memories of Girls Generation =p), it would be a phrase said by my coach when we were in the dressing room during our break, trailing far behind the Japs. He simply said,

"You guys have to play with your heart".

I know it may sound like a cliche line from a Disney-like Sports inspiring movie.. :P
But it somehow impacted me a whole lot.
It ignited a spark of fire.
If you think about it, in the circumstance that we were in - with just 11 players going up against the eventual champions, Japan - we weren't anywhere close to match them.
We lose out to them in numbers, we lacked in skills and we weren't tactically as good as them and yet the only hope that we had and that which matters most was that we played with our hearts out.
In that instant, it reminded me that any team, regardless of whether you're the best or if you're the underdog, is given a fair chance to step up and take ownership of what's arguably the most lethal weapon any sportsman can possess - Heart.

Play with your heart.

Besides floorball every other day, another significant event happened as well while I was in Pyeong Taek.
Let me give you a little background first;
Almost 2 years ago, I met a bunch of Koreans by pure chance.
I was walking out of USM to have my lunch when a group of 5 Koreans approached me asking me if I knew any cafeteria around USM where they could grab lunch as well.
Finding hard to explain to them the directions, I invited them to join me for lunch and ended up spending them lunch too just to prove that Malaysians are friendly people. Haha! :P
From there, we became friends. In fact, I became their tourist guide for the next couple of days and I even brought the Korean guys to visit my hostel room since they were utterly curious to check it out.
Eventually, I found out that they were Christians! :)
It's funny how God can bring people together, even if it's in such a short span of time.
I think I spent only about 3 days with them but even in such short time, I found them to be really a special bunch of people.
We ended up trading emails and they even bought me a thank you card!

Now, upon confirmation that I was selected to be in the Malaysia team, I decided to send an email to my Korean friends. I wasn't really expecting much from them and was a little anxious if they still have any little memories of me.
Surprise, surprise. They replied with much excitement! :)
However, my hopes of meeting them again was dashed when I realized that they were all residing in Seoul while I was in Pyeong Taek, two hours away.
Sigh.
But guess what...
They took a bus all the way from Seoul and came to spent just an hour and a half with me!
It was definitely one of the most memorable thing that took place besides floorball and all.
This time around, they took me out for lunch instead =p (Yes, Koreans are friendly people too).
It was great having lunch with them.
They even gave thanks for the food in Korean!
Awesome!

This just goes to show that whether or not I knew them for only 3 days old, whether or not I'm of different race and speak different language, we're all still connected through one body and that's the body of Christ.
Catching up with them at lunch, I found out that their trip to Penang the last time was actually a mission trip. They didn't tell me back then fearing that it may be a sensitive issue.
I count myself extremely blessed to be able to meet a group of random strangers with the passion to make Him famous.
I never thought I'd see them again and now, I'm looking forward for our next lunch outing. :)

In 2007 (when I still had my long hair :) when I brought them out to Pelita and teaching them to eat with their hands.


2009.
In Pyeong Taek, Korea.
A divine appointment. :)

I can go on and on about Korea.
But I'll just let the photos do the work...

The Japas vs. The Aussies


Team Korea vs. Team Australia


Team Malaysia with the Women's Korea Team.


The Men's APAC 2009 All Star team.


The Women's APAC 2009 All Star team.


APAC 2009 Champions - The Japs!
They memang power house!

Seriously, I thought I heard a Korean girl screaming for help...
:P

Above everything else, I want to just thank God for everything;
For the experience, the friendships, the team, the coaches, the safe journey to and fro, the protection and good health, the losses and the wins...
Indeed, His blessings are immensurable.
APAC 2009 will soon be but a distant memory.
Yet, a new beginning awaits us...
One that I'm sure will be more exciting.

For now, I bid farewell to Korea.
Say bye bye to Korea,
say hello to more Killas!

Goodbye, Korea.