How Indonesia Beat Malaysia in Hockey!

With five minutes and 20 seconds left in the final of the SEA Games men’s indoor hockey final, Indonesia took off their goalkeeper and launched power play. Malaysia were leading 3-0, and putting an extra man in attack at that stage of the match was a moment of desperation for Indonesia. Yet there was method in this madness.

Indonesia scored three goals in three minutes, the last goal coming two seconds from the final hooter, to send the match into a penalty shootout. Defending champions Malaysia, who were crowned Asian champions last year, lost 2-1 in the shootout, making Indonesian indoor hockey the best in Southeast Asia.

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org

One man knew that the players from Indonesia would play their hearts out, although he could never have imagined striking gold was K Dharma Raj, 51. He is being hailed as a sporting hero by the Indonesian media. Dharma Raj is the technical director of Federasi Hockey Indonesia (FHI) and a former coach who had turned the Malaysian men’s and women’s senior teams, as well as the junior squads, into a feared force.

Since the men’s and women’s teams were not gold medal prospects, FHI funded their participation in Phnom Penh. Now, each member of the gold medal-winning team will receive 365 million rupiah (about RM110,000) in bonus, as well as financial rewards from the provinces they come from.

For Dharma Raj, who has been in Indonesia since 2020, the gold medal in Cambodia has been the culmination of a long journey for him and all of his players. He worked with FHI, running trials and coaching, finding and developing kids in 10 provinces, and is still on the lookout for talent in another 24 regions.

We lose the best to other nations whether it is in badminton, medicine, engineering or new cutting-edge research. Why? It is always the “push-pull” factors. We push them out and others pull them with good reward mechanisms. And many are happy that Malaysia push them out or they may not achieve the significance they deserve. 

Remember the hockey team of 1976, fourth in the world! There were all races and the best were selected. Today we have a different policy reflecting an emphasis that says – “We were unlucky”, those are the words from the present players, not mine. How could you say you were unlucky when you were still in the lead until two seconds from the final whistle? Where was your hunger to win for your country?

Reference:

The Malaysian behind Indonesia beating Malaysia for SEA Games hockey gold, Frankie D’Cruz, FMT, 9 May 2023