Youth Olympic Handball: Singapore go down 7-53 to Brazil

Story by Chan Hui Mui/Red Sports. Photos by Lee Ying Quan/Red Sports

Suntec Convention Hall, Saturday, August 21, 2010 — Singapore went down 7-53 to Brazil in the preliminary round of the Youth Olympic Games (YOG) men’s handball competition.

A languid Singapore team had a leaky backline from the first whistle and that resulted in an opening 11-0 run from the Brazilians, who wanted to score more than 50 goals in the match, according to captain Fernando Dutra (#9).

Not only were the hosts having a lax defence, they had poor accuracy in their shots, which either went wide or hit the goal post.

A 14th-minute goal from winger Wilmer Tay (#7) triggered the Singapore team to play with a greater sense of urgency. They patched up their defensive gaps and slowed down their opponents’ pace. The team also grew more aggressive, and scored two consecutive goals eight minutes later.

However, the ambitious Brazilians were determined to achieve their goal. They bombarded the Singapore backline and responded with an 8-0 run to enter the second half with a 22-3 lead.

The comparatively smaller-sized Singaporeans continued to put Brazil’s defence to the test in the second half. The South Americans’ slack defence allowed Singapore to register another two goals in the first three minutes.

It did not take long for Brazil to muster up another goal glut. They scored 13 unanswered goals to bring the score to 37-6.

Wilmer (#7) then once again surprised his opponents with his wing play and scored his third goal from the left corner.

With 16 minutes to go in the match, Brazil were still far from reaching their 50-goal target. They picked up their pace and tightened their defence, restricting Singapore to only a goal and poured in 16 of their own to reach their personal milestone. Brazil wrapped up the game 53-7.

18-year-old Wilmer (#7), who scored three of Singapore’s seven goals, shared his experience of playing against a physically stronger side. “I am used to it. Prior to the YOG, we went overseas for a tournament and had opponents who were huge in size. Locally, we also had games against adults.”

The Nanyang Junior College student, who had 75% shooting accuracy in this game, was satisfied with his performance. “I am happy with my performance. I did not perform well in yesterday’s match. After receiving advice from my coach, I applied them today and saw myself scoring for the team.”

Singapore’s coach, Wang Mingxing, analysed the team’s performance. “(It was) not too bad. The supporters’ cheering aided us. The boys started the game nervously. Also, the ball had too much gel on it. The boys were not used to it. Wilmer was outstanding today. He was very agile.”

Speaking about Monday’s fifth and sixth placing match against Cook Islands, Wang said, “The boys will continue to ride on the momentum. They are very determined to win the match. They will certainly play the match with more confidence.”

Singapore will be contesting with Cook Islands for fifth position. It will be a two-legged tie and will be played on Monday, August 23rd at 8pm, and Tuesday, August 24th at 3pm.

Final Result
Singapore 7
Wilmer Tan (#7) 14′, 24′ 33′
Koh Jing Li (#15) 22′, 32′
Jason Tan (#6) 44′
Eugene Foo (#11) 50′

Brazil 53
Fernando Dutra (#9) 2′, 6′, 7′, 8′, 12′
Andre de Sousa (#13) 3′, 13′, 29′, 47′, 47′, 56′
Victor Campos (#20) 3′, 38′, 43′
Matheus Dias (#2) 5′, 9′, 41′
Arthur Malburg (#15) 10′, 19′, 36′
Andre Leal (#18) 18′, 26′, 32′, 34′, 48′
Fulvio Volpe (#7) 22′, 24′, 28′, 34′, 35′, 46′, 59′
Daniel Luz (#5) 26′, 27′, 28′, 51′, 52′, 53′, 57′, 57′ 58′
Leonardo de Oliveira (#6) 30′, 51′
Matheus Franciso (#10) 31′, 33′, 38′
Rodolfo Oliveira (#19) 33′, 36′, 40′, 42′, 46′
Filipe Rocha (#11) 49′, 59′