Athletics and football’s loss is
hockey gain and centre-half Wong Choon Hin is glad that he made the right
decision.
As a ten-year-old in 1960 at St
Francis Institution in Malacca, Choon Hin first excelled in athletics before he
ventured into cricket, table tennis, badminton, football and hockey.
Choon Hin was the school champion in
100 metres, 200m, 400 and 800m and athletics was his first love.
Switch to football and hockey
“It was my sports teacher K. Macap who
saw my prowess in athletics and decided that I will be an asset in the football
and hockey team,” recalled the Choon Hin who will be turning 65 on March 19.
“Then there was a football clinic
conducted by the famous Choo Seng Quee at St David’s High School. I was spotted
by uncle Choo who wanted me to pursue football.
“But I was carrying an ankle injury
then and after much thought I decided that I wanted to take up a sport which
had the opportunity to play in the Olympic and World Cup as opposed to football
which was then Asian standard.
“I certainly made the right decision
and have no regrets that I forgo football as I went to play in two Olympics
(1972 and 1974), two World Cups (1973 and 1975) and two Asian Games 1970 and
1974.”
At the 6th Asian Games in
Bangkok in 1970 Malaysia finished fourth and at the 7th in Tehran,
Malaysia won the bronze medal. At both the Olympics, 1972 in Munich and 1974
Montreal Malaysia finished eighth.
The highlight of Choon Hin’s career
was when Malaysia finished fourth in the 1975 World Cup in Kuala Lumpur after
earlier in the 1973 World Cup in Holland where Malaysia had finished fourth.
Choon Hin went on to captain the
Malaysian team for two years from 1976 taking over from Datuk Sri Shanmugathan.
Having collected more than 80
international caps, Choon Hin was the first choice centrehalf for a span of
seven years from 1970.
In 1976 he was named the Selangor
Sportsman of the Year pipping the late Mokhtar Dahari by a couple of votes.
Principles of success
Choon Hin owed his stronghold in the
game to Pakistan coach Ghafur Khan.
“I attended a coaching clinic
conducted by him as a teenager in Kuala Lumpur. Just like uncle Choo, he called
me after the session and said that he liked the way I played my centrehalf
position and saw potential in me,” related Choon Hin.
“He told me that he seldom shared his
secret of staying on top of the game as a centrehalf, but said that he saw
something special and believed that I will do even better if I followed his
principles.
“I followed it to the dot and I was
surprise as the way I was playing and that I could keep my first XI position
for seven years.”
Choon Hin shared Ghafur’s principle:
1.
As a centrehalf you only supporting role
2.
Zone of play is left inside and right
inside and left and right side penalty push out
3.
W
formation – support and defend
4.
As a centrehalf you are the mother of
five forwards to feed to them as quickly as possible
5.
Release the ball early, when in
trouble release the ball to left or right and support
6.
Access the opponent – if the opponent
is strong, limit yourself to a more defensive play ad do not cross the half
line. If the opponents are weak, you may move up to the opponents 35 yards
7.
Don’t just rely on attacks from moves
on the ground. Use the overhead flick to get the opponents back pedalling.
8.
The less mistakes you make, the more intelligent
you look on the field.
Architect on and off the field
“I strictly adhered to his principles
and it made my game so easy and enjoyable,” said Choon Hin.
Indeed, Choon Chin was the heart and
soul of the engine room in the national team.
And it is no surprise from being the
key builder of the team, he had chosen a career in the construction industry.
Choon Hin has been a senior
supervisor, project manager and construction manager with several companies
including IJM Construction Sdn Bhd. His work included the construction of the
Podium Block of The Garden Hotel, semi-detached houses in Penang, construction
of underground water tank, oil tank and sub-station at the Tuanku Jaafar Power
station in Port Dickson, construction of condominiums in Cheras, Megamall Mid
Valley City Development Development Phase 1 and the construction of the Colmar
Village Hotel in Bukit Tinggi among others.
He is still involved in the industry
as a project manager with A & M Realty Berhad.
Malacca a roost for hockey players
Choon Hin is also proud that he comes
from Malacca a state which has a long history for hockey players, especially
Chinese players.
Among the Chinese players from
Malacca who have done the nation proud include the likes of Koh Hock Seng, Yang
Siow Meng, Robin Goh, Leong Whye Piew, Tam Chiew Seng, Tam Kam Seng, Wallace
Tan, Chin Boon Ngee, the late Chua Boon Huat, Michael Chiew, Lim Chiow Chuan
and even a women’s hockey player in Mary Lim.
Other players from Malacca who had
donned national colours include Yusop Mydin, Sulaiman Saibot, K. Embaraj, K.
Dharmaraj, Sayed Samat , Glenn Sinappa and MP Haridas to name a few.
Indeed Malacca has a proud tradition
for producing hockey players but the trend somewhat seems to have slowed downed
in recent years.
Hall of Fame
Choon Hin’s icing to his illustrious
hockey contribution must surely being him inducted to the Olympic Council of
Malaysia Hall of Fame a member of the 1975 World Cup team in 2004.
“It has been almost 40 years since I
donned national colours, but it is an honour to be still remembered and
honoured,” said Choon Hin a father of two daughters, Liang Jin and Liang Fang.
Another fond memory Choon Hin has
about the 1975 World Cup is that it was then that he met his wife – Sia Eng.
“Sia Eng was the flag bearer of the
Indian team and my teammates teased me to get to know her,” said Choon Hin with
a smile.
“Three years down the road after our
meeting at the World Cup, we got married!”
Choon Hin is still
active with the game as a member of the Malaysian Hockey Confederation
management sub-committee for the last two years.
His love for the game
is undying and makes it a point to attend all hockey functions and
international matches played here.
His wish for Malaysian
hockey: “To see Malaysia become the top playing hockey nation. It is a tall
order but not an impossible one. If there is will, there is always a way. But
nothing can be achieved by just talking about it. We have to work very hard and
have a proper system place with long term goals.”
Wise words indeed from
a master tactician. Can the present generation of hockey players fulfil this
Malaysian hockey dream?
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