For the first time in the 58-year-old history of the Southeast Asian Games (Sea Games), three winter sports will debut in the 29th edition of the multi-sport event held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia this year. <br /> <br />In a hot and humid region where temperatures rarely dips below 20°C and snow does not naturally occur, ice hockey, speed skating and figure skating have been included in the biennial games. <br /> <br />All winter sports will be played at the new Olympic-sized ice rink at Empire City, Damansara. <br /> <br />One of the challenges faced when it came to training the Malaysian ice hockey team was the lack of facilities. <br /> <br />As players are unable to conduct their training outdoors, the team held their practices at the public rink in Sunway Pyramid mall until the new rink was completed a few weeks before the opening ceremony. <br /> <br />This proved to be challenging as the rink in Sunway was too small and not suitable for ice hockey practice. <br /> <br />But the challenges of playing winter sports in a tropical country has not dampened team spirit as the Malaysian team started off strong by beating Indonesia in their first match before losing to Thailand. <br /> <br />They are scheduled to meet with Philippines today. <br /> <br />Website: https://www.themalaysianinsight.com <br />Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/themalaysianinsight <br />Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/msianinsight/ <br />Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/msianinsight/
