World No. 14 Australia flexed its might to start its 2024 Men’s Floorball World Championships Qualifiers campaign with a 16-1 drubbing of China in Group F action on Tuesday at the Philsports Arena in Pasig City.
Team captain Daniel Gartner led the top seeds with six points on three goals and three assists to open their bid for a second straight Worlds berth.
Australia leads the group with two points (1-0 win-loss record) against the returning East Asian squad.
“I think we are happy with our performance. Since the first time we met China, I think in 2018, they have improved a lot, so that’s good to see. Yeah, we are happy with our performance, 17-1, and not a lot of goals conceded,” the 26-year-old skipper said.
“We don’t have any highlights on YouTube for China, so we don’t know their players or their techniques. But, we just went in and didn’t underestimate them, so that’s why we performed quite well,” Gartner added.
In another Group F match, Japan forced a 5-5 draw against Singapore to share the spoils and the second spot behind the Aussies.
Hiroto Moriya, the 21-year-old forward from Kokushikan FC, scored thrice in the third and final period to deny the Southeast Asians the full two points.
Japan had a chance to snatch the victory, but a final save from goalkeeper Damien Wan sealed the result for both teams.
In Group G action, the Philippines defeated a gritty New Zealand squad 4-2 in the first match, while fellow Southeast Asian and Worlds-calibre side Thailand fashioned out a similar 18-1 rout of South Korea.
Jeerayut Yaemyim orchestrated the balanced attack of the reigning two-time SEA Games defending champions, who also got captain Pawat Thaidit to score thrice in the one-sided affair.
Australia will look to secure a second straight win when it takes on Singapore at 1 p.m. on Wednesday, following the battle between Japan and China at 10 a.m.
The Philippines will face South Korea to open Group G action at 3 p.m., while Thailand and New Zealand will close the proceedings at 7 p.m.
