Tuesday, June 1, 2010

Enbaraj's "comeback" in hockey is epitomised in UniKL being overall champion in JHL.

The towering figure of K Enbaraj used to be the dominant figure in the defence of Malaysian hockey from the late 80s to the early 90s. This 6-footer started sporting life as an athlete and till today, well over 25 years later, his 400 metres record in Malacca High School (MHS) still remains unbroken. He was in MHS just for his 6th form and the school where he came into contact with hockey was St Francis Institution (SFI).


At SFI he was trained in hockey by a non-hockey playing coach Mr Durairaj. Apparently this teacher was so advanced in his techniques then that he trained the boys to run with the ball using the "reverse" stick. Today as Enbaraj watches the various hockey games he sees this style commonly used and it brings memories back to 30 years especially of Mr Durairaj's vision of the game.


Enbaraj, like most of us, has certain peculiarities and in his case he used to be the "live wire" of the team. A person who spontaneously gives nicknames to his colleagues like "Boss" for Mirnawan. In the case of "Boss" it has stuck on and somehow it personifies Mirnawan. As much as Enbaraj takes the mickey on his teammates, they too have given him back and to many he is known as "Unta" or "Camel". It is probably his height, movement, and the ability to carry sufficient store of liquid that may have prompted such a nickname.


"Unta" is a true "Gandhian" in spirit, of course barring the amber liquid. He gets emotional when he sees people being ill or mistreated including being undermined. He tries in his own ways to change things and usually finds resistances in the initial period. With time and sufficient experience from the setbacks he finds people tend to appreciate and understand his point of view. Something he puts down to everyone's "learning curve".


Used to be living in a glamour as one of the finest fullbacks in the world with the best consistent flat hits for short corners. All this came to an abrupt end when the Malaysian hockey contingent broke camp just 2 weeks before the 1992 Barcelona Olympic. "Unta" returned home and in helping his friends move a large glass sheet, it broke on its own weight which resulted in Enbaraj having a severe injury to his leg. His muscles and ligaments were severely damaged and he literally bade farewell to his Olympic dreams. This also meant that he had to come to terms that hockey was history for him. Something that devastated him as he painstakingly tried to return and it was near impossible. He even had a knee surgery in the hope it would help him but all that only added further frustration to his life.


After a short stint with Yayasan Negri Sembilan in 1995-96, the "Camel" faded a way into oblivion. The humorous Enbaraj was suffering from severe arthritis and the debilitating illness nearly crippled him. The years of suffering took a toll on him and this in a way changed his outlook to life. His philosophical approach of " mind over matter" aided and abetted his struggle to contain the effect of his illness. This forced him to change his lifestyle.


When Enbaraj felt he was ready to come back to society, the timing coincided with the crying need for change in Malaysian hockey because of the declining standards particularly in Malaysia's international hockey furore. Enbaraj together with his friend Azlin became co-signatories of an "open letter" to the relevant authorities, where they solicited the support of former hockey internationals. The group became known as "102 former hockey internationals", who went on to produce a comprehensive document for the future of Malaysian hockey.


This gave a new lease of life for Endaraj and provided the much needed impetus to find himself in society. His break came when he was appointed as coach for Sapura in 2008 for the Malaysian Hockey League (MHL). On his first attempt as coach, Sapura was in the overall final and their opponent was EY, which was coached by younger brother Dharma. The "sibling" rivalry fell in favour of Dharma as EY became the overall champion on penalty flicks.


For the 2009 MHL , Enbaraj became assistant coach to UniKL, a new team in the Malaysian hockey scenario. They were mainly young boys around the age of 21 and UniKL was making a "statement" of wanting to give young talents the opportunity to participate. This led him to continue as assistant coach for UniKL for the 2010 Junior Hockey League. This where one sees the best in the "Camel". He loves working with young kids and he seems to understand their "lingua".


The trial and tribulation he has undergone in his life post 1992, in a way has given Enbaraj a better understanding of people. He believes that everything is time proportional and there are no short term remedies particularly if people are used to certain ways. Change cannot be forced on rather it must be a process encompassing all the necessary elements if there is to be success. Ultimately it must be a self regulating process and this has to be started with the young.


His time with UniKL was very enriching for him. He got to know his players well and slowly was appreciating what made them tick. He may not agree with them but the point is at least he knew their point of view. He stayed , ate and mixed with them throughout the JHL and that gave him an insight. He believes that beyond the resources that is provided to the young players, there is a need for closer interaction so as the young kids also become part of the decision making process. Enbaraj believes this on the long term becomes a self regulating methodology for the young players to self train on issues such as fitness, diet and weight training.


Indeed UniKL's success in the JHL, ie as runner-up in the league and as overall champion is a befitting comeback for Enbaraj to hockey especially in administration. The one-time finest fullback seems to be on the right pathway as he takes upon Malaysian hockey yet again. This time more matured and philosophical having found the inner strength through his "bodily sufferings" and the education process the young boys have given him in the past few months, must surely equip the "Camel" to set the stage to become the finest in his new responsibilities.

28 comments:

Anonymous said...

Welcome back Embaraj. I used to play with and against him whenever I come home from Australia at the old High School ground. Hope he can contribute to the rejuvenation of Malaysian hockey.

Anonymous said...

Bro,

Gud article and very honestly written.

Played against him when younger but knew him better in my later years through his sibling.

Pray that MHF will nurtured him and make him an iconic figure to the young players that they have heard and marvelled.

Please naysayers, do not be envious and have your diarrhea splatted about this legend.

A PAL

darthvadai said...

Recently I had the opportunity of Organizing a Veteran Tournament and brought in my son and also the ball boys and introduced them to the Ex-nationals, ex-internationals, Asian All Stars, people who should be recognized, the boy were in awe and never imagined they were rubbing shoulder with such stars.

I applause this article well written and well said... hopefully people around him can learn from him and treat him without malice or fear.

He is in his way doing good thing for Hockey, let us embrace what he can give us.

Like him there are many behind the woodwork.

Lots hope this is a first of many that would come forward

Anonymous said...

There is no denying that Embaraj is good player. His brother was seen coaching the players in KL hockey stadium. His brother is also coach of Project 2013. As a national coach, he should not get himself involved. He is not neutral. Then he should also coach other teams. I wonder where does Vicky stand as coach. everybody knows who is behind the UniKL team. Vicky is dummy or only clown named. Project coach is behind the scene just as he was coach but Sarjit Singh was controlling EY. History is repeating. Next Vicky will be behind scene and a dummy will be named coach. God save this bunch of clowns
Bravo 102

Anonymous said...

Again Anonymous (June 3, 4:53pm) trying to look important by giving crap on something he doesn't have any idea about. Enough said, hehe. I pity these type of people. Not enough love? Here's a hug <>

Anonymous said...

If Vicky becomes cheif coach, then Dharma will do what? He was the man behind UniKL becoming champion. Planning and tactical he did. How can student overtake SIFU. The team will fail. We need to maintain Dharma. But let him help Vicky behind the scene. It is an open secret. Let's support
Melaka Coach

Anonymous said...

to Anonymous June 3, 2010 4:53 PM

This article is about Embaraj not his brother or who ever the clown in what ever the team responding to whom ever pulling the strings.

You wanna attack someone use the right forum and especially the right article.
Sigh

Anonymous said...

Anon. June 3, 2010 4:53 PM,
No involvement of Project 2013 Coach in the Unikl team even though he tried to interfere a few things without any response from Unikl Great Coaches and Management..We NEVER find any great in Project 2013 Coach and even we DEFEATED his BEST CHOICE of Project 2013 players in the SSBP-Thunderbolt team..What a shame!
Bravo Vicky, Embaraj, Mirnawan, Saiful Lap, Azhar, and all management, parents, supporters of Unikl MJHL2010 CHAMPION Team..Not to forget, HRH TM..
Thanx a lot, HRH TM..

Anonymous said...

HEARD ARMPIT & RIDSECT TOOK A TEAM TO COLOMBO FOR A TOURNAMENT. WHAT A CONNECTION AND JV BY TWO IDI&T#. MSIAN HOCKEY SUFFERS AND BEWARE BOTH ARE PLANNING FOR THE COMING MHF ELECTION. ONE FOR DP AND SECRETARY.

Anonymous said...

HALLO

RIDSECT KING
VIKING
JOKING
ARMPIT/TURBAN KING
RED LIGHT KING
POOKING
BOBBY HOKING
MAIRE QUEEN

WELCOMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMeeeeeeeeeeeeee

DR KING @ DRINKING
LAWYERKING @ SELLKING

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHA

Anonymous said...

HELLO CAN ANYONE CONFIRM THAT ARMPIT DID SOME STUNTS WHEN IN FAM. HEARD A REPORT WAS GIVEN.WANT TO BUY THE REPORT FOR $1,000.

Anonymous said...

heard ridsect and dr.inking are fighting about selection who is manager. ridsect manage to spray the dr. and killed. now ridsect is back to his old nonsense. joined armpit former fam tug and mole-st. ridsect was busy standing outside thebench during azlan shah want show power and lick tm. gk@ridsect is destroying of msian hockey and failed in many qualifiers. gk@ridsect only got money to throw and spoilt players. no ethics and no rules. the team has denggi fever and beware of this bloodsucker@ridsect. now again lead msian team to olympigs. waste of shit and time. even mhl cannot win wants to manage international hockey. plays for rsc and drinks and follow the tactics to be use at msian team. thats why half of the team are drunkens. pity coaches stuck between the ridsect and armpit/molest. all the best. heard armpit licking ahf officials and sighted many times.
RENTOKIL

Anonymous said...

rentokil. u were right. ridsect killed the VP/dr as team manager. beware the ridsect may be next dp. armpit secretary, goodbye msian hockey.
shieldtox-ur friend

Anonymous said...

kawan-kawan, dengar gaji setiausaha phm naik 2ribu ringgit. apa kerja dia buat dan bagaimana pihak atasan boleh memberi habuan seperti ini. biar betul. dahlah sapu duit banyak tambah lagi kaya. jahanam.

Anonymous said...

Bro,

All those contributions are done by pricks and cunts that break people's family.

Just because they screwed themselves when they were in power, now sour grapes are being hurled around. They do not have the education to write, they make use of proxies like so called Sports School Teachers and their wives who snatched people husbands but they do not know that their husbands were two-timing them.

If you all have nothing to say then don't be jealous and smear your shit around.

Grow up losers

Anonymous said...

The TM must do some drastic adjustment for the MHF and so Hockey can progress.

we are not dictating to the TM what to do, but to inform him what is behind the scene that His officials were brewing behind MHF's back.

1)Hon. Sec: he is not fit to be beholding this position and he is feeling very insecure of his minuses and he is covering all angles by playing gutter politics by being friendly to all sides hoping that he will get support from all HAs because of his breed.
He is a mole and he do not have the stature of being the Hon-Sec for Malaysia.

2) The fu-man-chu head injured VP should be thrown out of everything concerning Hockey, pronto. No mercy.
He will be big trouble if no action is taken now.

3) VP from one-eye jacks state is also in cahoots with the Chairman coaching south state because the vp is beholden to him as he claimed that he is the one that got him his position in the first place, as this VP have no track record in Hockey,so now it is payback time. If he has dignity, he will walk away after the Chairman claim then to be rubbished as a Hockey official in whatever capacity.

4) Treasurer: He holds the apron sting of his HA drunkard Sec. and he must do all his bidding or else he will not nominate him for his MHF post. This type of slippery snakes cannot be holding any responsible position in any organisation.

These are the main culprits in the MHF that is hindering the good work of the MHF, so they must be eradicated once and for all.

People, if you all have Hockey at heart, there is nothing that is good of them. So,if you are having teh-tarik in any mamak staff and any of their sympathisers comes along, please do not be swayed by them or be cowed by their claim of having big-wits behind their campaign.

OBSERVER.

Anonymous said...

Kat tanah air sendiri pun main cam tahi...

Nak cekap besar pasal Asian Club Championship.

P bersih tandas kat KLHA dulu ler...

dengar satwan jadi manager klhc dengan george. kiamat sukan hoki.

kedua-dua jahanam ini cuci tandas tan sri ahf. nak cari makan. konon maradona sukan hoki.

kedua-dua tak kahwin lagi. mungkin berbulan madu kat sri lanka.

selamat berbulan madu.

Anonymous said...

Get rid of the 2 KLHC coaches and 2013. Hire Sarjit or K.Rajan or Viky or Prakash. They will win the double with all the good players.
x coach

Anonymous said...

Hey thamby from tampin and gk. dont buy insurance policy. sapura also cannot beat want to talk big. wapda only 3 current and 2 ex pakistan international. klhc is full msian international and kuhan also there with 2013 coach. dont play drama. thamby if msian team give excuse you will climb on them. now u thamby buying life insurance. ahf shoul do soul searching. dont know hw they include 2 sri lanka clubs and call asian champions. they did same like in kl before teams like kazak and rest. dont con msian public thamby from tampin and gk hiding behind this thamby. read it.

It will be tough for KL Hockey Club to defend their title in the Asian Champions Club Tournament as WAPDA representing Pakistan have brought a formidable side for the tournament that gets underway at Makale in Sri Lanka on Sunday.

WAPDA have listed the likes of Sohail Abbas, Waseem Ahmad, Rehan Butt, Nadeem Ahmad and Imran Khan in their team and will play KLHC in the opening match tomorrow.

Anonymous said...

Vicky the right choice to coach Project 2013 to replace Dharma..Just wait for Vicky..His time will come..
The intelligent Vicky learned from his experience and willingness to hear and think the advice from others..He got his own intelligent brain..Blind and blur Dharma was NOT his SIFU exactly!!
Well done Unikl Team, Coaches, Managers, Supporters, Fans, etc.! U are the JHL10' champion and really deserved for that!

Anonymous said...

brother and sisters who writing in this blog,
1st,please read the question or topic and you can comment accordingly. Dont type stupid comments. This is a blog for hockey to move forward. they way you people comment,you'll should become a PM or lawyer.
2nd,about coaches,vicky and roslan SSBP did very well by bringing teams to final. Vicky did well and taking advantage of the game. and win the final game. But it doesn't grant him to become National or junior coach. He had 12 players from the Project team and on that day they perform exceptionally well to win the finals. The project coaches should happy to see 22 players from Project 2013 to play the finals. Sarjit and Rajan already given chance to coach the national teams and they fail miserably...why are ppl so stupid want this 2 clowns to take the team. Vicky can become very good coach if he concentrate fully in coaching.
3rd...KLHC is gone to lanka because they are selected as league champion. The cost for the trip is covered by KLHC, it is not from MHF. who going is not your f.u.c.ki.n.g problem. JUST LET THEM GO, SEE WHATS THE RESULTS.
we all should concentrate to our NATIONAL TEAM who is preparing for asian games n commonwealth. if to see team training,we should supply good INFORMATION FOR IMPROVEMENT

1MAS

Anonymous said...

Malaysians,

To be respected and honoured in life for everyone's profession, we must have these basic qualities:

1) Be truthful and honest to yourself and your friends.( do not backstabbed friends)

2) Do not be envious and try to destroy others when you have brought your own downfall by your own stupidity of putting all your eggs into one basket.

3)Never spread rumours about your friends when you yourself is also involved.(You have dirt on you but you are now talking about people's weaknesses.

4) Do not live above your means on other people expense.( Learn to pay your debts and never bite the hands that feed you.

5)Never break bridges, look after them because when you need it, it will be there for you or else you drown.

You all believe in KARMA, then beware, ill-wind will strike you when you commit these wrongs.So beware, the time of destruction is coming, unless you and your family repent and make good all the ills that you have done.

BABA have spoken.

Anonymous said...

Hei Jun 3,4.53

How stupid can one be.I was in klha too,I saw project coach playing Hockey with Sukma teams.Sukma and Unikl share half pitch each.I can understand your stupidity,unikl was totally coach by vicky and the gang.After this when kl wins the SUKMA are you going to say KL too coach by project coach.


KLHA Official

Anonymous said...

Jun 4,5.01,

It is not proper for a unikl manager to say all this.Remember what you say.Nobody who has brains would claim for something not his bro.

Why are you replying to morons who when in school were writing in school toilets.Are you putting yourself the same as them.

You are the champion manager and for sure your coaches were great beating the 2 sport school.It is history that would be remembered.Dont talk about project team bro.That is different team bro.

You are great so walk tall until the next junior league.They would continue to write on this new wall.Nothing happens here bro.Look at BJSS who are the main writer.They would soon get their students to write too.

Cheers bro.


Your friend.

Anonymous said...

Dear June 7, 8:12am

Hehehe ... u r mistaken.

Dear June 4, 5:01pm

Do listen to June 7, 8:12am.

Anonymous said...

What the hell happened in Malacca? Selfish prick!! Isn't SUKMA meant for development? Thumbs down to sport associations ...

Anonymous said...

BRAVO RAJAN!!!
BRAVO RAJAN!!!
BRAVO RAJAN!!!
KL WITH GOLD MEDAL SUKMA 2010..
VOTE RAJAN TO BE HOCKEY PROJECT 2013 COACH!!!

Anonymous said...

Hahahaha .... learn your lesson people.