Para World Cup: Austria has a medal in focus
© Sports report
Austria’s para-ice hockey national team has been in Bangkok/Thailand since Friday, completed over the weekend and this Monday in total three training sessions to be well prepared for the World Championships Group C, December 6th – 11th. Head coach Lucas Herrenegger shows himself in advance for the expected tasks. A top 3 place has been set as the goal, and the main competitors are in France and Great Britain. Armenia withdrew last week, which is why the schedule has been adapted again. Austria will start against France tomorrow, Tuesday, followed by Great Britain (December 8th), Kazakhstan (December 10th) and hosts Thailand (December 11th).
“We wanted to quickly find our rhythm in the training sessions, which we managed to do well. We are well prepared for the World Cup,” says head coach Lucas Herrenegger. Little could be learned about the strengths and weaknesses of the opponents. In the past few days, the training sessions of the other nations have therefore been carried out and as much information as possible has been obtained.
In the two opening opponents, France and Great Britain, Herrnegger locates the biggest competitors in the fight for the top positions: “You can see that they work very professionally and are positioned. I’m expecting a close game against both France and Great Britain, in which the day’s condition may ultimately decide the difference.”
However, according to Herrenegger, there is likely to be little income against Kazakhstan and hosts Thailand. There is a close connection to Austria in the case of opponent Thailand. Patrick Forstner, a well-known local face, acts as head coach here. The 29-year-old dual citizen (AUT/THA) played in the youth team of the Vienna Capitals between 2011 and 2014 and was also used twice in the win2day ICE Hockey League, albeit without a scorer point. Forstner has been active in Thailand in the Siam Hockey League since 2018 and has played a number of national team games for his second home country.
The Thailand International Ice Hockey Arena, where all World Cup games take place, was opened almost four months ago. The hosts have been preparing for the World Cup for around two months. In the entire district in which the hall is located, there will also be plenty of advertising for the big event.
“The entire organization is great. Everyone is extremely hard-working,” Herrenegger also gave the organizers a good testimonial. At the start tomorrow, France Tuesday is waiting for Austria’s selection. They take on Great Britain on 8 December, then Kazakhstan and hosts Thailand at the weekend. The aim was to get a medal in the red-white-red camp.
05.12.2022