THE Malaysian delegate in full force at the University College Dublin pitch before the start of the Malaysia-South Korea match. Pic by S.S Dhaliwal.THE Malaysian VIP list in Dublin, Ireland, to support the Malaysain hockey team's Olympic quest is nothing short of impresive.
Sultan Azlan Shah, Tengku Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah, National Sports Council Director General Datuk Zolkples Embong, National Sports Institute CEO Datuk Dr Ramlan Aziz, Sports Minister Datuk Sabery Cheek...
And not forgetting the 23 Malaysian Hockey Confederation (MHF) office-bearers and a handful of National Sports Council staff who are also here to lend support for hockey's moment of reckoning.
The University College Dublin stadium was teeming with Malaysians at every turn yesterday, as even the Malaysian students studying here have been gripped by the Qualifier fever, and the seating capacity is very small.
The stadium has a capacity of 510 seats, which are covered, while additional 1,000 seats have been added on behind the goalmouth.
It is quite small compared to the stadiums in Malaysia, and that is why all the tickets for the weekend as well as Thursday's matches were sold out.
An Irish fan tweeted: "Have seen it all now. People looking for tickets for an Irish hockey match on bulletin board".
Yes, we have also seen it all, as never in the history of Malaysian hockey, have so many officials left the country's shores to throw their support for any single event sport.
