By Tony Mariadass
The inaugural TNB Thunderbolts Hockey veterans and Under 14 carnival in the resort town of Port Dickson last weekend, the brainchild of former international hockey double Olympian S. Kuhan and his wife Rubini, was a huge success.
In the absence of Kuhan, who could not return because of his work offshore, saw his wife Rubini Lingam, helm the organisation of the tournament with a few good friends like former international Kevin Nunis, former Negri Sembilan football striker Baskaran Nair (aka Vasu), Jagjeet Singh and S. Vickneswaran.
With support from Malaysian Hockey Confederation president Datuk Seri Subahan Kamal, who made a personal cash contribution, TNB coming forward to offer the venue, several sponsors and individual support from several ex-international, the tournament became a reality.
Indeed, it turned out to be a huge success and there were plans and demands from teams, to make it a annual affair.
“Kuhan and I were inspired to host a tournament after my younger son participated in a U-12 tournament in Kuala Pilah last year,” said Rubini.
“What touched our hearts were the kids who came from less fortunate backgrounds, and yet they put up a good show. While kids in big cities had expensive turf shoes (worth RM400 and more), and expensive sticks, kids from smaller towns were wearing school shoes and sticks that were provided from then schools.
“Teachers and coaches forked out money from their own pockets to support the teams.
“We were very excited to meet a primary school team from Jerantut, Pahang, SK Merting, where most of the players were from the Orang Asli community. That was their first tournament and the team made it to round two. They were fighters!
“Thereafter the tournament, Kuhan and I decided to host a tournament in Port Dickson, simply because it is Kuhan’s hometown and teams can have a great weekend in PD. Also, its nice to have tournaments in smaller towns to create a nice vibe for the locals.
“The objective of the tournament was to give teams from smaller towns an opportunity to play in a tournament, have fun and to give them nice goodies and keep their cost low.
“We proposed two categories, Open 40 above (veterans) and U14 for boys and girls. Open category was proposed for ex-internationals to participate while catching up with old buddies.
“The constraint we had was to get a field in PD to host the tournament. That’s when Kuhan suggested Kilat Kelab, where he used to play during his schooling days (although it was grass pitch).
“Hence Kuhan approached former international, Nor Saiful Zaini, who is the head of Sports in TNB, to allow us to use the field that has not been utilised for hockey for more than 20 years.
“Without any hesitation, Saiful agreed and proposed a collaboration with us in hosting the tournament. Saiful assigned another former international, Nor Azlan Bakar to work with us.
“This tournament was a collaboration between TNB Thunderbolts, Jiwa Mohan Hockey Academy and SLV Lifestyle Shd Bhd.
“Upon getting the approval from TNB in early July, we started the ball rolling. Within less than six weeks we managed to get six teams for the open category and 24 teams for U14.
“We decided to raise funds from family and friends to financially support this tournament, so that teams are not financially burdened. Registration fees for Open category was RM600, while U14 was RM150. With the funds we raised, we managed to pay for the accommodation of the SK Merting team, cover all hosting costs, gave away participation medals, and hockey balls for 240 kids.
“TNB sponsored lunch for the kids, provided t-shirts and conducted a clinic session for the players, while we got sponsors for breakfast and snacks for teatime, including the MILO truck. Kids were so delighted to receive all this.”
The teams that participated were mainly from Negeri Sembilan, such as Jempol HT, SJKT Ladang Air Hitam, Tampin HT, Port Dickson Junior Hockey, SMK Dato Haji Abdul Samad (SDASA) and Persatuan Hoki Daerah Seremban (PHDS). Other teams were from Pinang, Pahang, Kuala Lumpur, and Klang.
“As the main organiser, I couldnt have done it without the support of several individuals, namely Kevin Nunis who guided me on the tournament requirements, (in the absence of Kuhan), Jagjeet Singh, Vasu and Padma Menon from PD who ran around making arrangements in PD.
“Jagjeet Singh organised all the match requirements, including technical team, umpires and tournament rules, without me needing to lift my fingers. Vicky, a.k.a Boy, without any hesitations agreed to MC the whole tournament.
“We were honoured to have the presence of ex international players Datuk Mirnawan Nawawi, Arul Selvaraj (and family), Nor Azlan Bakar, Rohadnizam, Mat Raszi, Lam Mun Fatt, Nishel Kumar and A. Sambu. Players and supporters were extremely excited to meet them.
“All in all the tournament turned out to be a success, with our objectives being met. Shall look forward to another one next year.”
Kuhan’s two boys Rohan Shammuganathan (18) played in the open category, while Ruben Shanmuganathan (10) played in the Under-14 category.
National coach Arul Anthoni Selvaraj, who played in the veteran’s category also saw his wife, former national athlete, Solo and daughters Erin and Deepa, who were down from Dublin, Ireland where they reside, play in the carnival.
Indeed, it was a great two days – first day on Saturday for veterans and second day for Under 14 boys and girls categories – was a huge success and playing on grass field instead of artificial turf was not only a delight to watch. but was a challenge to the players.
Results:
Open (Veterans)
- RA Leopard
- Panther 6
- JM Hockey Team
- KK Hockey Team
- Azedo Picante
- Kedai No.7
U14 Girls
- D’Touch
- Pegasus
- KK Hockey Team
U14 Boys
- Highlanders
- Jempol HT
- D’Touch
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