Floorball survives chop despite Philippines withdrawal

By Patrick Johnston SINGAPORE (Reuters) - The women's floorball tournament at the Southeast Asian Games will still go ahead despite the late withdrawal of the Philippines leaving organisers without the minimum required number of teams. Each medal event at the biennial multi-sport Games for the 11-nation bloc requires four teams to proceed but the Filipinos' decision to pull out for unspecified reasons on Tuesday left only hosts Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand competing. Since Philippines withdrew after the initial registration phase last month, the event, making its full Games debut after being a demonstration event two years ago in Myanmar, could proceed, the president of Singapore Floorball told Reuters on Wednesday. "They told us about a week ago. Everyone, all the other teams, are (very disappointed)," Sani Mohamed Salim said on Wednesday, adding he was not aware of the reason. Sani had told Singapore's The New Paper earlier he hoped Indonesia might step in after being left surprised by the late withdrawal. "They competed in the SEA Floorball Championships last December and finished third, and I think they have a good chance of winning a medal again here," he said of Indonesia. Floorball, a fast paced version of indoor hockey, is scheduled to start on Tuesday. Singapore, which introduced the sport for this Games, is expected to win both men's and women's golds. Sani said he was unsure whether organisers would remove bronze medals and only permit gold and silver to be handed out in the reduced event. He said meetings over the coming days would bring about a decision and also determine any changes in the competition format. Sani added the Filipino men would still take part. (Editing by Sudipto Ganguly)