There are no boundaries in the search for young talent in the country as far as the Malaysian Hockey Confederation (MHC) is concerned, and the national governing body welcomes vernacular schools and other communities to join and play a significant role in this process.
For a start, Sekolah Jenis Kebangsaan (Tamil) Ladang Rinching, located in the district of Semenyih, Selangor has emerged as the cradle of producing hockey players among the Indian community.
With an enrolment of 350 students, SJK (T) Ladang Rinching has 85 hockey players (boys and girls) – more than any school in the country. The school’s ‘A’ team emerged champions in the Hulu Langat District (MSSD) Boys Under-12 hockey tournament for six consecutive years since 2017.
The proudest and most challenging moment for the school will be defending the National Tamil Schools Hockey Championships which will be held on Feb 14-15 at the National Hockey Stadium in Bukit Jalil.
This second edition of the National Tamil Schools Hockey Championships is a collaboration between MHC and QNET Group, and it is organised by Kelab Hockey Impact.
A total of 47 schools involving more than 500 players will represent their respective states in the tournament. The states involved are Melaka, Negeri Sembilan, Selangor, Pahang, Kedah, Penang and Johor.
MHC President Dato’ Seri Subahan Kamal said he is excited and is looking forward to watching these players go into action on Feb 14.
“To be frank, we don’t have many Tamil players like we did back in the old days, and this initiative will be good so that we can be more inclusive by giving Tamil players a platform to perform,” he said.
“I have been to several Tamil schools across the country, and I was impressed with the teachers’ commitment as they were working hard to elevate the Tamil community through the sport.”
“This tournament began in Johor Bahru last year, and I watched the games at the Taman Daya Hockey Stadium, where I could see a lot of potential from the young Tamil players in the tournament.
“We discussed with the organisers about having the tournament played at the Bukit Jalil National Hockey Stadium this year because I want the players to experience playing in a world-class stadium.
“QNET Group, who are also MHC sponsors have agreed to come on board to support this initiative.
“Datuk Seri Vijay Eswaran the founder has always been supportive towards of developments and it is part of their CSR programme too.
“And MHC have also planned to approach the Punjabi and other communities as well. Hence, we are also hoping that they can approach us and we will organise a tournament for them as well so that they can be included in the national team setup,” added Subahan.
Meanwhile, SJK (T) Ladang Rinching hockey coach-cum-mathematics teacher S. Kaalitash disclosed that national junior hockey player Eswaran George was a former student of the school in 2015 and gradually improved his skills under their training programme before moving to Penang.
“The school is proud to see Eswaran represent the country and we will be excited to see many more players follow the same path. Playing at the National Hockey Stadium in Bukit Jalil, I believe, will surely be an exciting and memorable experience for the players. They have never played here before,” he added.
