FORMER national hockey defender Abdul Rahim Ahmad passed away yesterday at the age of 59, fondly remembered by the hockey family as a helpful administrator, and a hard-tackling player during his hey-days.
Rahim was a member of the 1982 Bombay World Cup, and also helped Malaysia win bronze in the 1982 Asian Games in New Delhi.
The stout defender started off by playing in the 1979 Jakarta Sea Games where Malaysia won gold, and retired with 62 caps. He turned out for Selangor from 1974 to 1992, and has also played for Perak in the Razak Cup.
Rahim comes from a well-known hockey family, as his brothers Amir Fuad and Mohamed Yazid are also former national players.
The Klang Municipal Council health officer was also a former vice-president of the Selangor HA, and an active Liaison Officer for many years at the Azlan Shah Cup.
Rahim's last two assignments were helping to run the media centre at the Sultan of Johor Cup (SOJC), and then the Junior Asia Cup in Kuantan.
Always passionate about the sport, Rahim once lamented about the lack of tournaments for the women.
"The men have many tournaments, local and overseas, to play every year but I pity the women who only have the Sea Games to look forward to. Maybe there should be a women's Azlan Shah Cup, and a women's SOJC in the near future to make them better players," said Rahim at the SOJC last year.
Rahim's wish might just come true as the Malaysian Hockey Confederation (MHC) Competitions Committee have said that they will help any state which wants to host a women's SOJC and Azlan Shah Cup.
