UAE secure historic win in ice hockey

Dubai: The UAE walked into the history books with a rousing 4-0 rout of Thailand on the opening day of the 6th Asian Winter Games being held in Changchun, China.

The UAE victory celebrations were however cut short after key player Juma Al Daheri was injured.

This is the UAE's first-ever win in a proper international ice hockey competition.

The UAE's first-ever participation at the Asian Winter Games came at the last minute, thanks to some encouragement from members of the UAE National Olympic Committee.

Al Daheri collided with Thailand's Chartsuwan Tewin when the match was just one minute and 11 seconds old.

Al Daheri was then stretchered out by medical personnel and sent to a nearby hospital to be kept under observation for the night.

But officials from the UAE team were confident their star player would be all right. "It is only a minor problem as the collision resulted in a twist of the parenchyma," stated Salem Al Nuaimi, the attache of the UAE National Olympic Committee. Al Daheri underwent a series of medical tests and checks and was assured that there was no fracture.

"This is part of the game. But that does not mean that we can discount the fact that Juma is the player we have at this moment," he added.

The UAE's march towards victory was led by Omar Al Shamsi as he weaved in way past a host of defenders in the 19th minute of the first set.

Ali Al Surour added the second in the 14th minute of the second set.

But hogging the limelight was Mohammad Al Za'abi after he found the net twice in the third set to set the UAE's fine victory in their very first international match.

"I am satisfied with the result and our players deserved this win as they have worked so hard to reach this stage," said Varyvonchyk Anatoli, the UAE's Belarussian head coach.

"I feel really sorry that our best player is injured, and I hope he will be back with us soon."

The Thailand players have been training together for just two months under the new coach Rolanti Michanel from the United States. "I think our players are too excited to be here," said Jason Cotsmire who has the longest experience of ice hockey in the team.

"Our target here is to enjoy the game and win a couple of matches so that we create history."

The 11 men's ice hockey teams have been divided into four groups. Kazakhstan is the third team in Group B along with the UAE and Thailand.