GOODBYE SUKHI, YOU WILL BE MISSED

One of Malaysian hockey's unsung heroes, Sukhvinderjeet Singh, passed away after suffering a massive heart attack last night in Klang. He was only 51.

Sukhi, as he is fondly known amongst friends and the hockey fraternity, was an outstanding defender and last represented Malaysia in 1991. Though he was quiet and unassuming off the pitch, Sukhi was a no nonesense player on the pitch. He forged a strong partnership in defence ith Abdul Rahim Ahmad and was a delight to watch when they represented Selangor and MPK.

It was in the first Sukma, in Kuala Lumpur in 1986, that I met Sukhi. He was playing for Selangor against Penang and I was the match umpire. I sent him off (yellow card) but he never disputed the decision though he had a temper.

After that I  met up with Sukhi in 1991 when he was with the Malaysian team that played against Great Britain in Cardiff ( a match Malaysia won through a penalty corner strike by K. Embaraj). Sukhi then became close with my brother in Cardiff, who passed away in 1998.

The man who coached Sukhi, C. Paramalingam was devastated with his death, having met Sukhi at the Klang Club yesterday evening.

"He grew up in my hands and today he has left without even a goodbye. I am truly shocked at his passing and its difficult to accept. He was a fine gentleman, a great personality and I shall miss him," said coach Param.

Note: Funeral details will be posted upon confirmation

STORY AS APPREARED IN THE MALAY MAIL

A nation's loss

Haresh Deol

 

Thursday, April 21st, 2011 10:58:00

KLANG: "A big loss to the nation".

Those were the words of former national coach C. Paramalingam as the hockey fraternity mourns the death of former Olympian Sukhvinderjeet Singh Kulwant Singh yesterday.

Sukhvinderjeet passed away due to a heart attack. He was 51.

"Sukhvinderjeet was a very nice man, a nice character to be with. It is such a terrible loss especially at such a young age," said Paramalingam.

"He has always been a very obliging man, on and off the field. He will surely be missed."

Sukvinderjeet, a former Setapak High School lad, rose to fame when he was spotted by Paramalingam to play for the Klang Municipal Council hockey team.

He then landed a job there but it didn’t stop him from representing Selangor and later the national team.

Sukhvinderjeet played under the watchful eyes of Paramalingam as the team played in the pre-Olympics in Europe followed by the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics.

Among his teammates then were Ow Soon Kooi, Yahya Atan, Sarjit Singh, Stephen Van Huizen and Zulkifli Abbas.

KEEVAN SUSPENDED

For lashing out at an umpire, Nur Insafi player and ex international Keevan Raj was suspended for 21 months by the MHF Disciplinary Board that never called the player to present his defense.

In what must be a first, MHF held their DB meeting on April 6 under a cloak of secrecy and only informed Keevan of his suspension via an email on April 18. Speaks volumes of their efficiency .

And the umpire, who was seen on video attempting to kick Keevan was not even hauled up and yet rewarded by an appointment in the upcoming Sultan Azlan Shah Cup.

More details later as it's believed that there is evidence of MHF lack of professionalism in handling the hearing, if it's to be called one as the player was not given a chance to a fair trial as the decision taken was in absentia.

CALENDAR MESSED UP

While MHF took pride last year that they were able to come up with a two year calendar , it looks like they have beaten the FA of Malaysia in terms of constant fixture changes as well as dates of events.

The Razak Cup Qualifiers is a clear example of a botched up event as the qualifiers had to be moved from early April to late May.

And now with the qualifiers in late May, the states will lose the services of players in the national team as well as the Project 203 squad who are touring Australia end of May.

Let's not forget that the states will not be able to use players who will play in the MSSM championships.

And the list goes on and on and on...

FAKE FACEBOOK PROFILE

Please be aware with regards to a fake Facebook account created using the name of national coach Tai Beng Hai.

He has sent out an email to warn all on the existence and below is a copy of the email that was forwarded by a Journalist to me.

Dear All,

This e-mail is to report and notify that a facebook account has been created using my name with my foto profile.

I do not have a facebook account as per the account Tai Beng Hai. I am worried that the comments will be negative to the National Hockey Team, NSC and MHF.

I will be making a police report to report the abuse.

Thank you All.

WHAT A SHAME

This is the condition of the Bandar Penawar Sports School pitch. And it is suppose to produce national players of the future. More to follow...

FITNESS FIRST

The national trainees will undergo a fitness test when they report to camp on March 25. And the results of the fitness test could well determine as to when the national team for the Azlan Shah Cup will be named.

In revealing this, national coach Tai Beng Hai said it was vital to gauge the fitness level before moving on to the tactical and match play preparation.

"We need to test the players first and we are looking at the last week of April in naming the final squad for the Azlan Shah," said Beng Hai.

"I need to hold discussions with Saiful and Stephen in determining the timing."

Beng Hai said that the team will be participating in a Four Nation Tournament in Japan this June before another Four Nation Invitational in Moscow.

For the Japan event, which is scheduled for early June, the other teams are Pakistan, China and hosts Japan.

Beng Hai said while the national players will be released for the Razak Cup proper, their release for the qualifiers seems unlikely as the national team will be in camp.

And talking about the MHL that will commence in September, Beng Hai did this to say;

"The players will need to national camp one day a week and I require a minimum four weeks before the Champions Challenge to prepare the team.

"Anything less then four weeks will mean the squad will not be well prepared hence trying to achieve the target will be difficult."

Fixture Blunder

Blunder in drawing up the fixtures has moved the qualifiers of the Tun Razak Cup from April to end of May.

Initially the qualifying tournament was to commence on April 2 but with the MJHL ongoing some states threatened to withdraw as they could not utilize the services of players who were representing their clubs in the junior league.

Hence it was then decided that the qualifiers be moved to the end of May with a break in June to accommodate the Under 21 Tournament and the qualifiers are to be completed at the end of June.

This development does not augur well for MHF as they are seen to have developed a flip flop approach and shows that the Competition Committee does not have a firm grip in deciding matters thus even leading for one Secretary to call for the committee to be dissolved.

An official statement on this matter is expected to be made today by MHF but it must be made clear that one persons ignorance and arrogance has put MHF , especially it's hard working Secretary in a difficult position as much time is spent fire fighting.