Asia-Pacific Championships one final testing ground before Lacrosse World Cup
Joshua Lok
18th June 2017
Hong Kong will bring a blend of experience and youthful exuberance to the competition in South Korea.
(Photo credit: HKLA)
Hong Kong Women's Lacrosse will travel to South Korea this month for the Asia-Pacific Lacrosse Championships, where they will kickstart their campaign against New Zealand.
Subsequent group stage fixtures include tricky ties with Australia, hosts South Korea, a combined Asia-Pacific side and Japan's U-23 sides.
As world number 18, Hong Kong are the second lowest-ranked team and will relish the opportunity to hone their skills in a competitive environment against high-quality opposition.
(Photo credit: HKLA)
If all goes well in the Championship, Hong Kong will be braced to tackle a group that includes indigenous Canadian nation Haudenosaunee, Italy and Switzerland with renewed optimism.
"The game plan for this is much more of an individual level over a team strategy as there is less than a month to the World Cup. We will look to find our strengths and weaknesses instead of giving away too much of our team strategy, and I am sure they will be doing the same thing,” said Travis Taylor, who has coached the team for two-and-a-half years.
“We will look to play our own game and test strengths and weaknesses of the other teams, and also see where our strengths and weaknesses are, and then have a two week period to improve of any of those weaknesses before the World Cup."
Taylor, who is Canadian in origin, has put together an impressive résumé that includes the Wales womens' and Slovakian indoor sides, previously nurturing the Dutch field lacrosse team to 2nd in Europe.
He has opted for a blend of youth and experience for South Korea, comprising two-thirds of the World Cup squad and will be complemented by a host of players rearing to take the international stage for the first time.
“It is a little bit strange that we have a tournament right before our World Cup that means so much and against some of our main rivals such as Korea, so I think all the teams will be a little bit cautious to show everything they are going to be doing at the World Cup in this tournament,” he added.
"But at the same time, that is countered by the fact we all want to do well in Asia and to use the tournament to gain ground on the other countries.”