When I think of a role model, Olympian Soon Mustafa Karim comes to mind. He has inspired and motivated me since I started following his progress and playing career in 1982 when I was a Standard Five student at Sekolah Rendah Kebangsaan Bandar Hilir in Malacca
It all started in 1982 when Malaysia played host to the Junior World Cup at the Tun Razak Stadium in Kuala Lumpur. Despite the host nation finishing a creditable fourth in this tournament, I loved watching Soon Mustafa play and began to see what an influential figure he was in midfield.
Having watched the tournament on TV, I still remember how impressed I was with the wonder goal he scored against Pakistan in a thrilling group match that ended on a 2-2 draw.
Soon Mustafa, a former student of Sekolah Menengah Cochrane in Kuala Lumpur, had something special; he was definitely one-of-a-kind. Besides being a savvy midfield player with a flamboyant persona, he was blessed with fantastic abilities.
Eight years after I first saw him in action on the TV screen, I received a call-up to the senior national team to prepare for the Asia Cup in New Delhi where I was given the opportunity to train and play alongside Soon Mustafa.
Soon Mustafa was more than happy to impart his knowledge of the game to younger players like myself. He was especially unselfish in sharing his playing experience at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics.
I must say, I wasn’t shy in the least to reveal to journalists that Soon Mustafa was my role model and when I told him that, the rather shy and soft-spoken Soon Mustafa just smiled.
I believe it's good to have a role model and that every athlete should have someone to emulate in terms of building a career. In fact, having role models also help us to cultivate a wider base for various sports at the grassroots level.
After the Asia Cup, Soon Mustafa continued his international career by participating in the 1990 Asian Games in Beijing under a newly-appointed Australian coach, Terry Walsh, with Malaysia returning home with the bronze.
Under Walsh, Soon Mustafa helped the team qualify for the 1992 Barcelona Olympics when Malaysia finished a creditable fourth in the Auckland qualifiers a year earlier.
In order to make it to the Spanish city, we won four straight games in the group stage with a game to spare.
Soon Mustafa was also in the squad for the Barcelona Olympics where Malaysia finished ninth. Yes, it was his second Olympics after Los Angeles.
His last outing on the big stage was at the World Cup qualifiers in Poznan in 1993 where the top six would qualify for Sydney the following year. Unfortunately, it was a frustrating end for Soon Mustafa as Malaysia finished eighth.
What about a foreign role model as opposed to a local one? Well, Shahbaz Ahmed would be it.
During my playing days, he was known as the Pakistani Wizard and it truly defined what kind of player he was.
Believe it or not, just as I did with Soon Mustafa, I had the opportunity to train and play alongside Shahbaz.
In 1991, I was with the Asian All-Stars for the InterContinental Championship. The tournament, which involved all five continents ─ Asia, Oceania, Europe, America and Africa, ─ was held at the Tun Razak Stadium.
Fortunately for me, Shahbaz was part of that team as well as two other Malaysians, goalkeeper Ahmad Soffian Zulkifli and Nor Saiful Zaini.
Coached by Malaysian C. Paramalingam, the Asian All-Stars Asia ended up champions when they beat Europe in the final.
For the record, Paramalingam was also the coach who charted Malaysia's course at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics.
In 1999, both Shahbaz and I were recruited for a World XI exhibition match against then World Cup champions Holland in Alexandria, Egypt and what a moment it was to play the World XI alongside my role model.
Besides displaying such wonderful skills, Shahbaz was friendly and easily approachable.
All said and done, it was truly an honour to have Shahbaz as a teammate ─ not once but twice!
Stay safe, everyone and have a wonderful weekend ─ The Vibes, 29 January, 2021
