Chua wants to play in another World Cup

By Ajitpal Singh
ajitpalsingh@nst.com.my

LONG serving Chua Boon Huat has represented Malaysia in all major competitions since he made his international debut in 1998 and with age catching up on him, he hopes to feature in his second World Cup in New Delhi, next year.
And he wants to relish his World Cup dream by helping Malaysia win the ongoing 8th AirAsia Men's Asia Cup in Kuantan.
"We are making steady progress and it is important that we maintain it throughout the tournament. I believe that if everyone contribute accordingly, the team will qualify for New Delhi," said the 29-year-old Boon Huat in Kuantan yesterday.
"I have been around for quite a while and have achieved everything in hockey. But my dreams are to feature again in the World Cup. As age is cataching up, I think this will be my last chance in trying to play in the World Cup."
"The Asia Cup offers us the best opportunity and if we don't win it, it will be tough to earn a place through the qualifiers (November). I'm not trying to say that I'm quiting anytime soon but I don't think I will be around in three or four years time."
His notable achievements were the two silver medals won in the Commonwealth Games (1998-Kuala Lumpur; 2006-Melbourne) and the bronze in the 2002 Busan Asian Games.
Boon Huat, who hails from Badar Hilir Malacca, also played in the Junior World Cup ( 2001-Hobart), Olympic Games (2000-Sydney), World Cup (2002-Kuala Lumpur) and the Champions Trophy (2007--Kuala Lumpur). He also earned himself a place in the 2002 Asian All-Star team.
The others, who featured in all major tournaments are captain Mohd Madzli Ikmar and Jiwa Mohan.
He made his international debut in the 1998 Kuala Lumpur Commonwealth Games at the age of 17, where he started off as a defender before he was converted into a striker about three years. He has earned 292 caps and scored 60 goals so far for his country.
"The Malaysian team have not been doing well internationally for quite sometime but I believe that with the present setup and the guidance from coach Beng Hai (Tan), there will be some improvement."
"It has been a good year so far for the team but it's too early to tell. The second placing the the recent Azlan Shah Cup is a fantastic result, which the team needed badly to boost their confidence but the road to recovery and improvement is still far off."
"People wll only acknowledge the team if it does well in priority tournaments like the Asia Cup," said Boon Huat, who had stints with semi-professional outfits Red & White Munich (2002-Germany), Teddington (2005-England) and Auckland (New Zealand-2008).