RSC HOCKEY: Hockey Personality – Muhammad Dhaarma Raj Abdullah

Family photo with Norsuhaida and daughters

Last month we talked to Stephen Van Huizen, who helmed the Malaysian National Men’s Hockey team as coach and has led our country to many successes in the international hockey arena. This month, we speak to another RSC Hockey Section member, Muhammad Dhaarma Raj Abdullah, who not only played for Malaysia is his younger days, but also coached our Malaysian Women’s Hockey Team nicknamed Malaysian Tigress.

1. Tell us a little bit about yourself and your family?

I was born on 16th November in Melaka, am 51 years old this year, and currently residing in Jakarta, Indonesia. My family consist of 8 siblings – 4 boys, 4 girls. My elder brother, Embaraj and I played for the National Men’s Hockey team, whilst my younger brother, Vijayaraj was in the National Junior Hockey team. So, all 3 brothers excelled in hockey, except for my eldest brother who was sent to India at a young age. My father did not play hockey, but was very supportive in our hockey careers. Although I was the 7th child (2nd youngest sibling) in the family, I was very outspoken even at a young age and ‘make things happen’. One of my memories playing with Embaraj was in the qualifying rounds for 1992 Olympics, where he scored 2 goals resulting in a 3-2 win over India. We played a 2-man defence, and both brothers were holding the defensive fort for Malaysia! Unfortunately, he injured himself just before the games, and I had to go to the Olympics without him. All 3 of us did not get a chance to play together in the national team, but we played for Melaka in a couple of tournaments. I am happily married to Norsuhaida and blessed with 3 wonderful daughters - Dharnisha Nur Amelda, Dharnieya Nur Amelsa dan Dharfiesa Nur Amelya. They sacrificed a lot for me, as I spent so much time in my coaching activities, and I am glad that they were understanding all these years in my coaching career.

In my free time, I try my best to spend as much time as possible with my family.

2. How did you start playing hockey and at what age did you start? Please elaborate any extraordinary moments in your early hockey playing days that you remember.

I started to play hockey at the age of 8 with a broken stick which I nailed together and a ‘hockey ball’ made out of rolled-up newspaper at home, inspired by my elder brother K.Embaraj who was already playing for St Francis Institution. When I was 10, I joined a school hockey program ran by Mr Terry Lee (many SFI boys would remember him as an instrumental hockey figure back then). By 12, I was the school hockey captain and eventually, selected as the Melaka MSSM state hockey captain in the U-15 and U-18 teams in the later years.

3. Do you play other sports? If yes, what are the other sports, and why did you decide to choose hockey as your main sport?

Yes, I did. I was involved in athletics as a runner in the 400m, 800m, 1,500m and 3,000m events. I also played cricket and softball for my school. In fact, I was a very good softball player (playing as a pitcher) and was the captain of the softball team. But softball was not a popular sport back then, so I started to focus on playing hockey.

Family trip to Sabah and with mum at home in Melaka

4. Which school did you study at and was there a hockey coach that inspired/motivated you at that time? Please tell us any specific occasions that you remember.

SFI was a very famous hockey school, producing good hockey players even before I took up hockey. Mr Terry Lee (who passed away recently in 2019) was very passionate about the game and taught me all my hockey basics. He was very instrumental throughout my hockey career, in school until my moving into the national team. I remember speaking to our King (who was MHC President then), when I was the national junior team coach, during the Men’s Hockey Junior Asia Cup in 2012 in Melaka about Mr Terry Lee, and invited him to join us for a tea session. It was really nice to have him being introduced to the players and the MHC officials as the person who brought me into hockey.

5. Tell us more about your hockey playing career and achievements.

I was selected to be part of the training team in preparation for the 1989 Junior World Cup in Ipoh. Immediately after 1989 Junior World Cup, I was selected to play for the senior national men’s hockey team and had the opportunity to train under Terry Walsh. Having the privilege to have played at the highest level, at the Olympics in 1992 at the age of 21, it seems I may have peaked and lost my ‘fire’ too early, and eventually stopped playing for the national team at a relatively young age of 24. This was when I moved to Penang for a job opportunity, and now, I sometimes look back and think that I may not have fulfilled my full potential … and could have played for a longer period of time in my younger days, like many of my team mates.

Franciscans Reunion game together with fellow Olympians Michael Chew & Paul Lopez

Young Dhaarma as a player

6. How did you venture into the coaching arena and what was the rst team that you coached?

When I was a player, even at the U-15 level, I find that I had the ability to teach players on many aspects of the game, including difficult skills. It is something special that I felt I possessed even back then as a player, to help the team perform and achieve the results that we needed. I was always one of the most outspoken team member during team meetings. One day I woke up and told my wife that I had a dream, and that I wanted to be a coach. Having not fulfilled my full potential as a player, I felt I needed to fill this gap with my coaching ability. Also, that if one had an ability, one should maximise the use of that ability. And at that time, I truly believed that I would one day be one of the best coaches in the world. With that, I made an immediate switch into coaching in 2007, taking up a coaching position for the KL development teams (U-14 and U-16). I think I did well in that role, winning the U-16 title 5 years in a row. The U-14 team was also runners-up for 2 years, and 4 years as champions in MHC tournament. These results really got me noticed for my coaching ability that eventually took me into the national coaching set-up. For this, I am eternally grateful to George Koshy who believed in me and opened the door to me when he was in KLHA. Thank you George!

At that time in 2001, there was also a special coaching program developed by Datuk Ho Koh Chye. I joined this program and successfully completed Level 1, 2 and 3 within one month. This did not go well with some of the other more senior coaches… but after 12 years, I managed to prove my worth as I won the best coach award in Anugerah Sukan Negara 2013.

Young coach Dhaarma in 2008

Coaching the Malaysian Tigress team

With the Malaysian Tigress team!

I Believe Everything is Possible!

Coach of the Year 2013

9. When selecting a team, what attributes do you look for in a player? And why are these attributes most important

The most important attribute is the cleverness or intelligence to play the game at a high level. I want players who can perform in games, especially in big matches, and not only in training. I also look for players with courage, on top of creativity and game intelligence. If we are able to channel their abilities correctly, and guide them accordingly, these players will bring you success. In 2013, I took many players who were deemed to be ‘gangsters’, ‘samsengs’ and ‘rascals’, as I believe I was able to harness their strengths and utilize them well in tough games to achieve success (although I am not a ‘gangster’ myself!). The result speaks for themselves.

10. How do you build rapport and respect with the players and fellow coaching staff?

I believe player management is one of my strong skill as a coach.

Although I scold the players, they still respect me, as they know I am honest in my dealings with them – to go beyond the confines of the hockey pitch to assist them with personal and even financial issues. This, I feel, touches the hearts of the players, even though I am very tough as a coach, and most players (and assistant coaches as well!) have a good relationship with me.

Also, mutual respect and good relationship with assistant coaches, is also really important, as they play a pivotal role in the team, especially with the demands of international hockey. We need to ensure that everyone in the team are moving in the same direction, in order to achieve success as a team.

11. Tell us about the most memorable/proudest moment(s) you have experienced as a coach

I am proud of the many achievements that I have achieved as a coach, but the best moment was when we won the 2012 Hockey Junior Asia Cup. I was confident that we could win the cup, although we only needed to qualify as top 4 teams to make it to the Junior World Cup tournament. There were many people who did not believe this was possible, and even laughed at my suggestion that we could win the 2012 Hockey Junior Asia Cup. When we actually won it, many people now recognize me for my coaching ability and achievement. I really feel appreciated and it gives me a lot of satisfaction, when people recognize me on the street.

You can read more about my journey in my book ‘Siapa Datang Kita Langgar’. I also subsequently brought our Malaysian Tigress one step shy of qualifying for the Ladies Hockey World Cup! Another proud moment was when I coached the Malaysian Indoor Ladies Hockey team to the gold medal in the Manila SEA Games with only 2 months to prepare, and beating Thailand (who was ranked 17 in the world and had gone on a European tour to prepare for the games, compared to Malaysia who was 33rd ranked in the world). That was also my final assignment as a national coach in Malaysia.

Always with the boys – Buka Puasa with Jawa Barat team

Training before Sahur during fasting month!

Local coaches – Iman Gobinathan, Dhaarma, Lim Chiow Chuan, Nor Azlan Bakar

Makan-makan with my fellow coach – Roslan Jamaluddin

Friends from Singapore Hockey – Mohd Ali, Dr Valdew, Teng KS, Ronnie Yeo and Farouk Marican

Reunion of the SOJC Hockey team of 2013

With my brothers, Vijay and Embaraj, at ‘Siapa Datang Kita Langgar’ book launch

12. What do you still aspire today to achieve as a coach or mentor? Any regrets as a coach?

I have no regrets as a coach. It was a decision that I made and am glad that I have been able to maximise to use of my abilities despite the pressure, especially the 11 years when I was in the Malaysia national coaching set-up, facing various challenges and the toll it took on my physical and mental health. Age is catching up on me, so I’m happy to now be able to contribute as the Technical Consultant for Indonesia Hockey.

13. Any last words for aspiring hockey players and/or coaches?

I believe that whatever we do, we must do as best, as we only have one chance to prove ourselves in this world, especially when we are given an opportunity. Today, when I meet some of my ex-players from 10 years ago, we talk about those days when I spent so much time with them to make sure we did things right and gave our best. Coaches need to be ready to take on any form of challenges, eg team selection, disciplinary issues, game analytics, team tactics… not only conducting trainings with cones and going home.

You have to think hockey all the time, at home, on weekends, on off days, after trainings etc to plan and execute what needs to be done to make players and the team better. Players need to have a lot of match experience and develop their game intelligence. Playing a game is all about using the right skills and have the courage to making the right decisions on the field, and this separates the great players from mediocre players.