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While giants China, South Korea and Japan are dominating the medal table at the Asian Games, a thought should be spared for minnows such as the Maldives at the other end of the scale. |
Yesterday at the Games, in Incheon, South Korea, the women’s handball team ended their campaign in Group B with a 56-5 loss to Kazakhstan. The heavy nature of the defeat was not unexpected - the previous Maldives results were a 57-7 beating by Uzbekistan, an eye-watering 79-0 against Japan, and 41-7 against Hong Kong.
Going into this match, the total of 14 Maldives goals had been matched by Kazakh centre Xeniya Volnukhina alone. But the Maldives players were not without fight, consistently throwing themselves into the green wall of the Kazakhstan defence, albeit with little success.
Only Fathimath Rishma, their best player who hit double figures in goals for the tournament, had the physical presence to cause problems. She was not without skill either, once setting up a chance for a team-mate with a delightful reverse pass which wrong-footed the opposition completely.
Rishma, 28, works for the department of immigration but was thrilled to experience an event like the Asian Games.
“We are very proud to represent Maldives and we are all very proud to represent the handball association of Maldives in such a big tournament. We are very happy,” she said.
Against a Kazakh team who, with the occasional exception, were much bigger, stronger and faster, it was not easy to match up.
“It was very hard and it was very tough for us, we are not that physically strong even and we accept that,” Rishma said. “Next time we will prepare much better.
“This is the beginning for us, it’s a whole new game for us. We came for experience and get to know more about handball.
“We learned a lot and I think we will go and do a lot to improve this game and get more players to participate in handball and do what we can.”
The handball team is not alone in having to cope with some heavy defeats. The men’s basketball and women’s football teams were outclassed and in the women‘s 4x100 metres freestyle relay swimming heat, the Maldives finished more than a 90 seconds behind China.
But there was also reason for cheer as the men’s football team twice came from behind to defeat East Timor 3-2 in a preliminary match.
Along with the Maldives, East Timor and Bhutan are the countries at this Asian Games who have yet to win a medal of any colour in the history of the competition.
And when there are also countries present such as Iraq and Syria, who are struggling to hold their states together under intense political strain, it is no surprise that not everyone can compete.
Regional powerhouse China, with a population of more than a billion and an athletic programme to match, is virtually on a different planet to some of the nations it takes on. It can send a delegation of approaching 1,000 athletes while others can muster only a couple of dozen.
Numbers alone is not a guarantee of success though, as India, another country with a billion-plus population, will testify. They have consistently under-achieved at the Games and this edition, beset with pre-tournament problems and bickering, is no different.
Even Indian Saurav Ghosal, the highest ranked men’s squash player in the competition, was stunned by the relatively unheralded Abdullah of Kuwait in Tuesday’s final.
Perhaps there is hope for the Maldives, East Timor and Bhutan yet.