1997 welcomed newcomers Majlis Perbandaran Petaling Jaya (MPPJ) into the Malaysia Hockey League with me on their side, and what an eventful and memorable season that was.
Despite being debutants among many formidable teams, MPPJ emerged as a league and overall champion when this season saw me winning the double with the team.
I also suffered the worst injury in my playing career with them, but more on this later.
A year before that, I was with the Yayasan Negeri Sembilan (YNS) side who won that historic treble by winning the Charity Shield, the league, and overall titles for the first time -- and winning remarkably every single match in the process.
But as mentioned in my previous column, YNS decided not to compete in 1997 for reasons only known to them. They, however, still participated in the national junior league.
I, along with a bulk of YNS players moved to MPPJ in 1997 to continue our involvement in the MHL.
We would have continued with YNS if they had participated, but alas we had no choice but to move to MPPJ and began a new adventure in our playing career.
Joining me at MPPJ from YNS were defenders S. Kuhan and Maninderjit Singh, midfielders R. Shanker and Nor Azlan Bakar, and forwards M. Kaliswaran and Ariffin Ghani.
MPPJ also had the services of star goalkeeper Ahmad Soffian Zulkifli, Khairuddin Ghani, Chitti Babu, Zainal Ariffin, and K. Dhinakaran.
Ariffin, for the record, decided to retire after his exploits with YNS. Originally, Soffian and I tried persuading him to join MPPJ, but he told us that his fitness level was not up to the mark.
Finally, we told Ariffin he could be a "super sub," to which he agreed. And this proved to be fruitful when he ended with nine goals in this role -- which was more than what regular forwards would typically garner.
This is not surprising as Ariffin had the talent and experience after playing in the 1994 World Cup qualifiers in Poznan, in 1993, and the Champions Trophy the same year Malaysia hosted it.
He was also in the Malaysian squad for the 1989 Junior World Cup held in Ipoh.
MPPJ, under coach Yahya Atan, comprised of internationals and some talented youngsters who were out to earn some honours in a very competitive league.
We knew the playing structure, philosophy, and so on imposed by him fully well; thus the internationals did not have many problems with him.
We were on home ground as well -- the MPPJ Stadium. This means we had the upper hand and saved time on traveling to train on visitors’ field to improve the team technically and tactically.
And we managed a double at the end which was an achievement considering the fact that we were newcomers and there were many good sides.
All good things aside, as I have said earlier, I also suffered the worst injury of my playing career when I fell on the turf and ended with the troublesome Posterior Cruciate Ligament (PCL) on my right knee.
Athletes in sports such as hockey and football can tear their PCL ligament when they fall on a bent knee with their foot pointed down. The shinbone hits the ground first and it moves backward. Being tackled when one's knee is bent can also cause this injury.
Thankfully, I managed to recover in a week’s time and decided not to undergo an operation. However, I had to continuously work on strengthening my calf muscle, hamstring, and quadriceps muscle at the gymnasium.
And all the hard work and pain were well rewarded as I continued to play for the country until 2002. Although I have come to terms with it, the injury continues to affect me today and I am always cautious with it.
Talking about injury, Shanker also suffered a serious injury after an opponent's stick hit his face.
Fortunately, Assunta Hospital was just a stone’s throw away from the Stadium and he was rushed and admitted.
Despite some painful moments, it was all worth it when we won the double; and MPPJ did it in their first participation in the league, which made the moment all the more beautiful.
Against the formidable, and my former team, Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB) - also known as Kilat Club - won 5-3 in the final for the overall title.
It was a good day for me as I struck a hattrick with the other goals scored by Maninderjit and Kuhan.
Sadly, after the league, MPPJ decided not to compete. What a pity. But their win in the double with only one appearance still remains in a special record.
The MHL was not organised in 1998 as the national team was preparing for the World Cup and the Commonwealth Games which Malaysia also hosted that year.
And in 1999, I joined Bank Simpanan Nasional (BSN) after MPPJ decided not to participate that year. This was where I partnered with Indian star Dhanraj Pillay up-front.
All said and done, I must say that 1997 seemed to be a great year for MPPJ and the national team.
The success in the league earlier had this great momentum for MPPJ's international players in the World Cup qualifiers hosted by Malaysia at Bukit Jalil that year.
The Malaysians produced some convincing performances and qualified for the 1998 World Cup in Utrecht in style by beating Belgium 3-0 in the classification match.
Malaysia, coached by German Volker Knapp, ended sixth to be on the plane to the Dutch city. The last time we qualified to the World Cup prior to this was in 1982 in Bombay.
It is good for national players to have vital competitive matches to play. And moving forward to today, it has been almost a year since our athletes have had opportunities to play in tournaments or test matches.
The MHF new season, held centrally in a sports bubble, because of Covid-19 pandemic, began on Thursday at Bukit Jalil.
Universiti Kuala Lumpur (UniKL), Terengganu Hockey Team (THT), Tenaga Nasional (TNB), TNB Thunderbolts, Maybank, Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM), Sabah, and Nurinsafi are competing in the men's category.
PKS UniTen, Police Blue Warriors, Mutiara Impian, Sabah, Young Tigress and UniKL Ladies will do battle for the titles in the women's category.
All the best to these teams in their bid to clinch the titles at stake.
Stay safe, everyone. - The Vibes, March 19, 2021
