Malaysian goalkeeper Kumar, who played a key role in India's exit yesterday, was in the throes of depression after his father's death last month
Malaysian goalkeeper Kumar, who played a key role in India's exit yesterday, was in the throes of depression after his father's death last month |
| Malaysia's Ahmed Abdul Jalil (left) celebrates after scoring the first goal against India in the semi-final at the 16th Asian Games in Guangzhou yesterday. Malaysia won the match 4-3 to make it to their maiden Asian Games hockey final. Pic/AFP |
The Malaysian hockey team would not have been half as good against India in their 4-3 Asian Games semi-final win yesterday, had it not been for veteran goalkeeper Kumar Subramaniam. The 31-year-old custodian made some great saves in the field denying India forwards Shivendra Singh, Tushar Khandker, and skipper Rajpal Singh on separate occasions. And to think Kumar almost didn't make it to the Asian Games.
Kumar lost his father (55) while he was manning the bar for Malaysia at last month's CWG in New Delhi and returned home midway through the tournament. Thereafter, he was in a state of shock for over two weeks, devastated by the loss. "I just could not pick up the hockey stick for the next few days. I wanted to give up the game. My father was more of a friend to me and his loss is unbearable. Even today I can't believe he is not with me," Kumar told MiD DAY moments after Malaysia's Sultan Azlan Shah congratulated the team at the Aoti Sports Complex for their entry into the gold medal match where they meet Pakistan.
Kumar went on to recall that unfortunate night: "We had just finished our match against Scotland. At around 2 am, my wife called me, saying my father had passed away due to a massive heart attack.
"My father had called me up the very same morning. He told me to take care of myself. But when my wife called, I was stunned. I thought it was a hoax call and hung up. After a moment, I regained my senses and realised what had just happened," explained Kumar, who bravely stood in the way of all the three point-blank attempts from Shivendra, Tushar and Rajpal as he helped the Malaysian team enter their first ever Asian Games hockey final.
As fate would have it, Kumar returned to the game for the same reason he left. "My father was a former club footballer and was very proud of me being the national team's goalie. So, when the Malaysian Hockey Federation coaxed me into playing the Asian Games, I finally relented, thinking that my father would be proud of watching me from up there," said Kumar.
Malaysia chief coach Stephen van Huizen told MiD DAY how his team had to literally force the 'keeper to don his pads again: "He was deeply depressed. But we told him the country needed his help. We told him this is what his father would have wanted. Only then, he agreed. And now, a new-found aggression and determination has come into his game which has made him a new player altogether," said Huizen.
