Tribute from 1975 team-mate

By K. BALASINGAM.
Kuala Lumpurletters@nst.com.my

I AM writing this letter in appreciation of my fellow player and captain of the 1975 Malaysian World Cup hockey team, Datuk N. Sri Shanmuganathan, who was awarded the Darjah Datuk Paduka Mahkota Perak (DPMP) title by the Sultan of Perak on Tuesday.
I am very proud that his contributions have been finally recognised.
He has made tremendous contributions to the game, as a player, manager and coach.
As the captain, especially in the 1975 World Cup, he led the team exceptionally well. And who can forget the winning goal he scored against Holland, the reigning World Cup champion at the time, on March 14, 1975 at Kilat Club.
The then prime minister, Tun Abdul Razak Hussein, who was also the president of the Malaysian Hockey Federation gave each of the players and officials a gold Omega watch for their effort.
I am very honoured to have been in that team and we played really well under Shan's guidance and that of our late coach Datuk Ho Koh Chye. The latter would have been very proud of Shan.
We were the best assembled team and we delivered the results. Anyone who talks about hockey refers to the 1975 World Cup team with pride.
On behalf of the players of the 1975 team, I thank Tuanku for honouring Shanmuganathan with that title.