Friday, May 18, 2012

KAVIN Kartik (pic right) is the last Mohican standing, as he battled all  odds to to be selected for the Junior Asia Cup, and is now  looking forward to his second Junior World Cup appear ance.
     The 20-year-old from Tampin, Negri Sembilan, played in  the 2009 Junior World Cup but after that, weight problems  weighed him down almost into the abyss.
     But he shed eight kilos just months before the Junior Asia  Cup in Malacca, and was aptly named as the Best Player of the  Final.
    That is not all, he also sacrificed one semester of his  matriculation to make the hockey grade.
    “I had to make many sacrifices and also work harder than  the rest because I was overweight, but looking back now, it  has been more than rewarding,” said Kartik after receiving  RM12,500 from the Malaysian Hockey Confederation on  Thursday.
    And the only non-Malay in the juniors outfit is ready to skip  another semester next year, as he badly wants to help  Malaysia make an impact in New Delhi November next  year.
     “I would do it again (skip studies) as training is a full-time  job, and I have the support of my parents to play first and  study later,” said Kartik.
    He was first spotted when as a 16-year-old in 2008, he  scored a penalty corner brace to beat Kuala Lumpur 2-0 in  the Razak Cup semi-finals after former skipper S. Kuhan  failed in numerous attempts for Negri Sembilan.
   K. Rajan, who was coaching the national juniors then,  spotted his talent and drafted him into training.
    “It was a dream come true to be selected for the 2009  Junior World Cup, and now that I have a second chance, I  want to help Malaysia achieve their best finish ever,” said  Kartik.
    Malaysia will not have penalty corner flickers Faizal Saari  and Noor Faeez Ibrahim for the World Cup because both will  be overage for the Under-21 tournament by then.
    “It will be a big loss as both the flickers played a major role  in winning gold in Malacca, but I am ready to fit into their  shoes if the coach wants me to,” said Kartik whose weight  problem was one of the reasons why he lost his penalty  corner touch.
     And what is he going to do with the RM12,500?
     “I will keep it for my education,” said Kartik whose father  Govindasamy and family members came in force to see him  receive the reward at a leading hotel in Kuala Lumpur.

RIP RAMAMURTHI

 FROM http://www.malaysianhockey.blogspot.com
 
It is with profound sadness that we report the demise of Ramamurthi, the elder brother of The Star Journalist S. Ramaguru.
    I received a call from Ramaguru at dawn informing me of the loss and am told that the funeral will be held on Saturday in Seremban.
   The late Ramamurthi was 59 and rushed to the Damai Hospital at around 3.00am as he had chest pains but succumbed to a heart attack.
  Will update funeral details later.
   My condolences to Ramaguru and his siblings as well as the rest of the family.