Where are the non-Malays?

© Provided by Media Prima Because a ‘majmuk’ team will have many different thinkers who can deliver in a tournament.NSTP/Aswadi Alias

Triple Olympian Nor Saiful Zaini and former international Madzli Ikmar are perplexed by the same problem.

Where have the Sikhs, Indians, Chinese and Eurasians gone?

Nor Saiful oversees the four Thunderbolts sponsored teams — Tunku Mahkota Ismail Sports School (SSTMI), Bukit Jalil Sports School (BJSS), Anderson and Pahang Hockey Academy.

Madzli, meanwhile, is the team manager of BJSS.

“When I was playing hockey, we had players from every race representing the country in hockey. Now, it is difficult to spot a Sikh, Indian, Chinese or Eurasian playing the game in Malaysia. It is something to be worried about,” said Nor Saiful, who played in the 1992 (Barcelona), 1996 (Atlanta) and 2000 (Sydney) Olympics.

So why is he worried?

“Because a ‘majmuk’ team will have many different thinkers who can deliver in a tournament. However, it is different now,” he added.

There is only S. Kumar left in the senior men's team while it’s only Kirandeep Kaur in the women's team.

Both the men and women's junior squads are made up of the same race.

In the ongoing Junior Hockey League (JHL), there are only 27 non-Malays out of the 308 registered players.

“We (Thunderbolts) have spotted a few non-Malay players over the years.

“They were good in the age-group tournaments. However, when they reached Form Four and Five, sports took a backseat,” said Madzli.

Madzli and Nor Saiful’s teammates at the Sydney Olympics were Maninderjit Singh, Chua Boon Huat, K. Gobinathan, S. Kuhan, Jiwa Mohan, Keevan Raj and Calvin Fernandez. The JHL resumes today.

FIXTURES — Today: PJCC Tigers v Sabah Jnrs (KLHA Stadium, Datuk Bentara-UniKL v Perlis Young Lions (Datuk Bentara Stadium), BJSS Thunderbolts v KL Wipers (National Hockey Stadium), Terengganu HT v SSTMI Thunderbolts (Batu Buruk Stadium), Pahang Thunderbotls v BJSS Juniors (Wisma Belia Stadium), SSTMI Juniors v Penang (SSTMI Stadium), Anderson Thunderbolts v SSMS Resilient (Azlan Shah Stadium) — matches at 4.45pm. -nst