Former national team goalkeeper M. Nadarajan believes the present batch of players deserve to be Olympians.
The 47-year-old, who hails from Tampin, Negeri Sembilan, said: “These players have the pedigree to compete in the Olympics having qualified for the 2018 World Cup in India during the Hockey World League Semi-Finals recently in London. They have the potential and I am confident we will do well in the SEA Games to defend the gold medal.”
At the age of 12, Nadarajan started off as a football player. However, the former Tunku Besar Secondary School student switched to hockey when the coach saw potential in him as a goalkeeper during practice sessions. It was, however, the start of better days for Nadarajan who went on to help the national team qualify for the 1996 Atlanta Olympics.
However, the Tenaga Nasional Berhad employee’s journey to Atlanta was derailed by a shin split injury during a training session just two weeks before the national team departed for the Summer Games.
“The team has great potential. The only thing that the players need to do is discipline themselves and start their personal training sessions without having to wait for the coach to tell them what to do. During my playing days, we would continue to train on our own even on non-training days,” said Nadarajan, who has been coaching national team goalkeepers since 2011 and among them are Muhammad Hafizuddin Othman and Mohamad Hazrul.
“After having qualified for the 2018 World Cup we should strive hard to compete in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. I have been with the national team for five years and have seen them (players) playing their best matches. Their attitude during the Hockey World League semi-Finals in London was commendable. With this kind of structure and commitment, I believe they should not face problems qualifying for the Olympics. They deserve to be there among the best teams in Tokyo,” he added.
Nadarajan stressed that he will continue to coach national teams for as long as his services is needed. Personally it gives him satisfaction in seeing the team succeed in international level. – BY SARA YAZMIN
