Sports Officer Norakma Hashim has made the nation proud with her appointment as Technical Delegate (TD) to the 8th Women’s Asian Champions Trophy 2024, scheduled in Bihar, India from Nov 11-20.
Attached at the Faculty of Sports Science and Coaching, Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris Shah (UPSI) in Tanjung Malim, Perak, the 39-year-old Norakma says she views her responsibilities as a Technical Delegate (formerly known as Tournament Director) as a challenging new chapter in her life.
“I consider myself blessed and I am thankful to the Asian Hockey Federation (AHF) for having the trust and confidence in me with this appointment. It is a huge responsibility. I accept this responsibility as an opportunity and challenge that I do not want to miss,” said Norakma who has eight years of experience as a technical official.
This will be Norakma’s second Women’s Asian Champions Trophy assignment with her first being in Singapore in 2016 as a judge.
Accompanying her to Bihar on Oct 9 are fellow Malaysians Annie Thomas (umpires’ manager), Noorrafeah Daud (technical official), and Police Officer Norasyikin Md Shariudin (umpire).
“As for the three officials – Noorrafeah, Annie, and Norasyikin, I would like to wish them all the best and let’s take the challenge and excel together in empowering more female officials and umpires in the country,” added Norakma.
She also expressed her gratitude to the Malaysian Hockey Confederation and Kuala Lumpur Hockey Association for their continuous support in her journey as a technical official.
Norakma previously represented the Malaysian Tigress at the 2009 Indoor Asia Cup in Ipoh which won the gold medal, and also claimed a bronze medal at the 2012 Indoor Asia Cup in Bangkok. She also competed in the Junior Asia Cup 2000 in Kuala Lumpur.
Her first international appointment was as a judge at the 2015 Women’s Junior Asia Cup in Changzhou, China. She also had the privilege of officiating as a judge at the FIH Men’s Olympic Qualifiers 2024 in Muscat, Oman in January, and the 2023 Asian Games in Hangzhou, China.
Annie, a tax consultant by profession, had previously officiated as umpire’s manager at the 2023 Women’s ACT in Ranchi, India, EW Barker Cup (Men) and Annabel Pennefather Cup (Women) 2023 in Singapore, and the Junior AHF Cup 2024 in Singapore held in June.
She made her debut as an international umpire at the 2009 Women’s Hockey Champions Challenge 2 in Kazan, Russia.
A former student of Tunku Besar Secondary School in Tampin, Negeri Sembilan, Noorrafeah represented her state as a goalkeeper at national level tournaments.
She made her international debut as a technical official in the 2018 men’s hockey test match between Malaysia and Argentina, and also in the 2019 women’s test match between Malaysian Tigress and India. Both matches were held in Kuala Lumpur.
“I am enthusiastic and excited about this appointment. I need to grab this valuable experience as I venture further into my duties as a technical official. I would also wish to thank AHF for this opportunity,” said Noorrafeah, Assistant Unit Manager at Takaful Insurance.
She was also the only women technical official at the 29th Sultan Azlan Shah Cup in 2022. Her last appointment was at the Women’s Junior Asia Cup in Kakamigahara, Japan, in June 2023.
Norasyikin, who holds the rank of an inspector in the Royal Malaysian Police Force, started her international appointment as an umpire at the Donghae Women’s Asian Champions Trophy 2021 in South Korea.
She also had stints at the Jharkhand Women’s Asian Champions Trophy 2023 in Ranchi, India and Women’s Junior Asia Cup, Japan 2023.
