World Lacrosse Super Sixes: Hong Kong’s women ‘still learning’ says coach after heavy defeats
- Hosts have fielded two women’s teams in the tournament, but likes of Great Britain and Germany proved too strong
- Head coach Gemini Fan says players are still adjusting to new rules for Olympic Games version of sport
Hong Kong’s women struggled on the opening day of the World Lacrosse Super Sixes, but head coach Gemini Fan Tak-kwan said the three defeats against some the world’s best had been a good learning opportunity.
As with the Hong Kong Open in April, the hosts have fielded two teams in this weekend’s tournament, which is being played with the format the sport will use when it makes it Olympic debut at the LA Games in 2028.
And Fan said her players, who are more accustomed to the traditional 10-a-side version, were still adjusting to the new rules which include a requirement that the team in possession to advance the ball out of the defensive area past the centre line in 10 seconds or less.
Hong Kong I were thrashed 22-4 by Great Britain in their only game of the day at Aberdeen Sports Ground, while their colleagues lost 18-2 to Germany and 16-9 to the Philippines.
“Our style is to seek scoring opportunities on the fast break, so the outfield players tend to rush forward on every possession, and tend to forget they need to cut back and provide more [passing] options for the goalkeeper,” Fan said.
“There was no such rule last year, it’s a new one added in the past two months [for the Super Sixes], and we didn’t really practice about this, so we’re not quite familiar with it.”
