OctaFx Bali 4’s Wheelchair Rugby

Wheelchair rugby in South East Asia took another big step forward with the debut of Timor-Leste in the 2018 4th Bali 4’s International wheelchair rugby tournament held in Bali,Indonesia from 19-22 July.Other participants were Indonesia,Malaysia and Victoria (AUS).

The tournament was opened by Helena Studdert, Australian Consul General to Bali and East Indonesia reflecting the Australian government’s support to Paralympic sports and wheelchair rugby in particular in Indonesia.

Victoria with only one non- Australian national team player ,led by 5 time Paralympian ,dual gold medallist Naz Eldrem were clearly in a class above the other teams and provided a lesson in high level wheelchair rugby.

The three SE Asian countries battled it out for the 2018 South East Asian Championships with the final results being

1. Indonesia (INA)
2. Timor-Leste (TLS)
3. Malaysia (MYS)

Timor-Leste (TL) SE Asia’s newest country commenced its wheelchair rugby program in 2017 with establishment of the Federacao de Cadieras de Rugby Timor-Leste by Rodney Holt.The TL team spent 1 month training in Bali at BSF Indonesia leading up to the tournament and were boosted by the addition of two Singapore players Jonathan Lam and Henry Seah .Led by the tournament’s best new player Martinho Freitas TL surprised the other teams with how quickly they have picked up the game.

Malaysia under Dr Ang are in a rebuilding phase with only two players with previous international experience , which augers well for the future.

Indonesia with two players recently returning from playing in Australia were clearly the best of the SE Asian countries and even pushed Victoria a few times. The tournament also gave valuable international experience to a number of new Indonesian players .

On the sidelines , the SE Asia wheelchair rugby moved ahead with two Indonesian referees completed Level 1 National under international Head Referee Stanley Chon Chin Sian from Malaysia.Kees van Breukelen from Holland classified all the new players from Timor-Leste, Malaysia and Indonesia.

Special mention for OscarMike Militia ,wounded US veterans wheelchair rugby team who played a 5 game warm up series with Indonesia in the week leading up to the Bali 4’s , giving Indonesia valuable game experience.

At the completion of the tournament the following were voted by coaches, officials and referees.

Best 4 players

Mashuri – INA
Muhamad Haikal – MYS
Dino – TLS
Ketut Suarti – INA

Best New player – Martinho Freitas – TLS

MVP – Made Ratni – INA

All the SE Asian countries will meet again in a few months time at the next SE Asian tournament , the Rabobank Singapore Cup on October 18-21,2018.