Apart from taking silver in their first-ever SEA Games, the Philippine women’s ice hockey team had the unique experience of playing in front of royalty with Thailand's Queen Suthida in attendance.
BANGKOK — It’s not every day that you get to play your sport in front of royalty — but that was just what happened to the Philippine women’s ice hockey team during their first SEA Games Finals on Friday.
Going up against powerhouse Thailand for the gold medal at the Thailand International Ice Hockey Arena, the Philippines succumbed to the more experienced hosts, 13-4, in the presence of Thailand’s queen Suthida — a known supporter of women’s ice hockey.
The 47-year-old royal played for the national team once in an exhibition match, and she also won gold in the SEA Games with the sailing team.
After the match, Philippines veteran Danielle Imperial said that it was a “special” moment for the team.
“It was so special, I mean, what an honor it is to play in front of the queen, and yeah, she played hockey so that’s really cool,” Imperial told One Sports after finishing with the silver.
[RELATED: Philippine women’s ice hockey stand tall with silver medal finish in SEA Games 2025]
Queen Suthida actually awarded all three podium finishers with their medals, with each athlete being able to have a close and personal encounter with Thai royalty.
While welcoming her presence, Imperial said that it may have added to the pressure for the hosts — one thing that the Philippines was able to take advantage of to some extent, becoming the first team to score on Thailand in the whole tournament.
Regardless of the final result, Imperial and the rest of the Philippine skaters were happy with how things panned out.
“It also just added to the pressure on them so we were hoping that you know, we play with nothing to lose and everything to gain. But yeah, [it was] just a great experience overall and we’re happy with the game we played,” she said.
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Luisa Morales is a sports writer with a special interest in promoting women’s sports.
Her coverage highlights include the UAAP, PVL, Southeast Asian Games, and the FIBA World Cup. She also follows Alex Eala, the Philippine women’s national football team, and mixed martial arts.