Shalom.
Last weekend my hockey mates and i went to KL to participate Pesta Hoki IPGM 2014 (ke-9). 3 years ago if you were to tell me that i'd be IPBL hockey team's defense player i'd say, "nahhh. nay-verrr."
honestly, winning 3rd place for the tournament was an unexpected victory! God has worked His miracles and praise Him for that!
When Bam, Ajie & Saha recounted the history of Batu Lintang Hockey Club, i was almost brought to tears. Years before, these dudes fought hard for a place for us to play and also in maintaining the existence of this club.
i tell you, semangat pemain hoki sangat lain. i'm not mocking sportsperson in other fields but cinta terhadap hoki oleh semua pemain, for me, is very exemplary. As Sarawak Hockey team's coach said " semua orang boleh main bola sepak. semua orang boleh main bola jaring. semua orang boleh main bola tampar. tapi tak semua orang boleh main hoki." sobs.
in IPBL, we play hockey at an abandoned tennis court. The seniors told us that they were they ones who took care of the court. They removed the weeds with their bare hands, fixed the torn net, and cleaned the court all over. Every Tuesday we get to practice at Stadium Hoki Negeri, thanks to Mr. Dana's generosity. going to KL, we invested our own money. BLHC players who preceded us were so kind and gave us some money to cover our budget. Thus, we could afford to buy or pretty jerseys and BLHC club t-shirt (refer picture above).
we built the team based on friendship. no selection was needed cause we didn't hv enough players. i myself were also invited by my dear roommate Mayrone about a year ++ ago since they didn't hv enough players then. basically we never had enough players. hahahahaha. we'd trained amongst ourselves. boys vs girls. sometimes some of the boys became the girls' defenders due to the reason stated before.
when we received so much support, sacrificed every cent we had, and basically put everything on the line, we went with a huge boulder on our shoulders.
we seeked to prove ourselves. and with God's grace, we did it! our success might seem trivial to others but we fought with all our strength, sweats and blood. and so, ptL He has made us fruitful.
anyways, apart from the medal, i went back with scars and bruises and injury. i'm proud of them since they are the evidences that i gave my all. (actually, it showed how i haven't really mastered the game. better effort next time, heinny).
the next day after the tournament ended, we measured KL City. limping around, my joy overpowered my pain. we played games at Berjaya Times Square Theme Park and hang out at Suria KLCC entrance.
at night, Mayrone and i moved to IPBA to join JPP fellas cause the next morning we'd have our benchmarking at IPBA. that night i couldn't sleep since my nervous system was still affected by DNA mixer that i hv played in the morning. pfft.
in the morning, we had an early senamrobik session with IPBA's JPP and sem 6 teacher trainees. it was fun!
then, we had a formal meeting with IPBA's JPP.
by the time everything ended, i was so weary. even writing this made me more weary. sobsss.
and so, the point is, i had such a great time with great ppl. it was a refreshing feeling- to be able to go out of my circle and experience the love for hockey with equally passionate friends.
oh oh ohhh. one more thing. i really think the organiser should reflect on how they planned and executed the tournament. i suggest they follow the norms of grouping teams- by vote, not schedule it according to your own logics. no matter how you try to justify and how we look at it, it was wrong.
anyways, thanks for the hospitality... peace. <3
