The women's hockey team closed out their Asian Games campaign with a 10th-placed finish. Photo: SpexSG/Chainainut Thongratanachat
Women’s hockey co-captain Valerie Sim has the phrase “The sun will rise, and we’ll try again” tattooed on her wrists, and these words rang true as the 26-year-old reflected on her team’s Asian Games outing on 2 Oct.
In their final match of the Aichi-Nagoya 2026 Asian Games against Bangladesh, Singapore put up a valiant showing as they held their opponents to a 1-1 tie in regulation time, before eventually falling 1-2 in the penalty shootout. They conclude their Games in 10th place. Earlier in the group stages, Singapore lost to Thailand, Japan, Indonesia and India, but triumphed over Uzbekistan.
“It’s one of my favourite quotes – the sun will rise, and we’ll try again. Every day, you face challenges but regardless, you turn up and you try your best, and you just try again because you can’t just give up when things get tough,” said Sim, who shares the captaincy with Sardonna Ng.
“And that applies to hockey – when life gets hard, you still turn up and you still try, and hockey is the same. Today, we were 1-0 down but we still tried and we equalised, but we just fell short on our shootouts. It is part of the game.”
Co-captain Ng noted that while there were issues with controlling the ball and keeping possession, there were positives in the way the team rallied after trailing 1-0.
“In previous matches, once we let in a goal, the team kind of sat back and went into defensive mode. But we didn’t do that, and we kept on attacking and looking for opportunities,” said the 25-year-old.
“The team is quite young and there is potential, so that’s something we can continue looking at, along with improving the teamwork between the younger and more senior players.”
With some players retiring after the SEA Games last year, more than half the Asiad team are debutants, and Sim gave her teammates credit for their efforts in training despite having school and full-time work commitments.
“We hoped for better results but we fell short, and that’s okay. We learnt the hard way, so I think that shows we have gaps to fill. But regardless, the whole team performed with our hearts and I believe if we keep showing up, we’ll eventually get there,” said the striker, who works in operations.
She started playing hockey at age 11, played in her first international tournament as a junior at 18, and these Asian Games are her first. While one might think there is added weight for a debutant who also holds a leadership position in the team, Sim believes the term is just a label.
“Co-captain or not, I always make sure I turn up to training to do what’s best for the team and for myself. Regardless of whether I’m captain or not, I think my actions show my values. I like to walk the talk … I make sure that I do my part so that it reflects and my team can pick it up from there,” she explained.
Sim will leave Japan inspired by the “once in a lifetime” experience of sharing the pitch with the likes of stronger hockey teams such as India and Japan.
“Being able to play at such a high level is definitely an honour and there are a lot of things to learn. It’s inspiring to see how other teams play so well. I hope that in the next few tournaments, we’ll get better from here,” she added.
“As a player, I definitely need to sharpen my own composure and skills and try to become one per cent better every day. This tournament reflects where the gaps are, and we just need to pick that up and really finetune it from there.”
The 20th Asian Games are held in Japan from 19 September to 4 October 2026. For the latest Team Singapore coverage and news, follow Team Singapore on their social media channels (Facebook, Instagram, TikTok) or visit the official Team Singapore website.