Sibu club confident hockey ready to take off again
SIBU: Hockey stalwarts here believe their mission to revive the sport can get a lift once they acquire the futsal field at Kampong Bharu.
This is according to Club Hockey Sejati president Noorzahar Abdul Kadir.
“Once we get the court and when we have a proper place to train our players, we are confident that the hockey development here will be revived and revitalised,” he told reporters after attending a recent reunion dinner attended by 78 former hockey players here.
“Once we get the venue, we will then rope in players and other facilities to make the venue a good site for training,” he said, adding that Sibu used to be the powerhouse for hockey in the 1980s and 1990s.
“Indeed, those were the days when hockey players can be found almost everywhere training and playing at schools such as SK Abang Ali, the sports field and car parks,” he revealed.
Inter-school hockey competitions were regularly organised, he added, which produced many talented players, with some becoming state and even national players.
From 2000, he explained, hockey development here began spiralling downwards, due partly to lack of training grounds and lack of interest.
Club Hockey Sejati was registered on May 24, 2016, aiming to check the declining standard of hockey in the central region.
“As a first step to help raise the sport of hockey, we introduce the club to all players so that they will be better informed about the efforts made to uplift the condition of hockey development in Sibu.”
So far the club had organised two tournaments called the Jackfruit Challenge 2018 and Sibu 5-aside Open in 2019.
Activities were interrupted by the Covid-19 pandemic from 2020.