Chua Boon Huat (1980 - 2013): The big bully

IF you are a very young hockey fan, perhaps you won’t have known that the game used to be started by a bully. No, not bully the man, but bully the verb.

It is where the two captains square off with each other while standing in enemy territory, facing their own goa. They ground and tap the opponent’s stick three times with the quickest and strongest gaining the advantage of immediate possession.

It is akin to the tip-off in basketball where the tallest often gets possession of the ball tossed in the air by the umpire.

This quirky way to start the game was revised with a straight forward drag push to the back which was altogether more easily executed and far less quirky to watch instead of the ugly bully.

This was just one of the major changes made to the laws of the game – internationally known as Field Hockey, to distinguish it from the ultra-fast paced North American game of Ice Hockey.

Other changes include promoting the reverse hit and removing the amount of infringement permutations while the ball is in play to make for far less start-stop interruptions. The game played back then became rather a grind to watch and understand for spectators which also became a bit put off for television viewers.

One state in Malaysia – Melaka – produced its unfair share of hockey exponents. In the late 80s it was Razak Leman. Then there was Mirnawan Nawawi. The pipeline in the early noughties was one Chua Boon Huat.

A product of the august education institution, the Melaka High School; Chua to friends, Boon to close acquaintances and Huat to grudging opponents, he burst on to the local national hockey scene at 18.

This is the age most of the world’s top athletes start to embark on their own hallowed sporting journey. A combination of callow youth, young buck and up and coming jock all rolled into one. He was also unusual for a Malaysian player – sturdily built and taller and bigger than the average Malaysian.

THE SIZE FACTOR

If there is one Achillese heel afflicting Malaysian hockey, it must be down to size – or the lack of. Just watch any intercontinental tournaments where we come up against Europeans, Argentinians and the Antipodean nations – Australia and New Zealand.

Seen from the stands, I can’t help harking back to my school days where as a member of the school’s Under-15 sports team, my teammates and I were sometimes pitted against our bigger brothers from the Under-18 side. In the didactic mind of one venerable sports master, this was the tradition by which he and all the other coaches before him were able to instil the culture of respect for seniority.

More often than not, our German or Dutch opponents tower over our hapless warriors 2-to-1; in terms of height and bulk. Just imagine a Malaysian player running flat out, taking three steps to cover the same ground a far bigger African or European athlete can do in a mere, single bound!

In hockey, size also equates to the punishing power that goes behind a determined whack that sends the solid ball flying like some lethal round projectile. Pit your baby brother against his elder cousin in a game that is a test of strength and you get what I mean.

Amidst all these anomalies, CBH (the ill-fated car he drove on his final road outing had this as the alphabet portion of its license plate that formed the initials of his name) stood out like a colossus. He towered over all his other more puny mates.

He played his attributes to the fullest – why else should anyone who stood heads and shoulders above everyone else on the pitch would need a pony tail. That was almost his calling card, as if allowing him to draw strength in the manner Samson’s grew in proportion to the length of his locks.

There was an aura about him that rallied hockey fans across the country that transcended the bounds of race.

A SPORTING ICON

He was admired, respected and indeed chased by fans from across the racial, and gender divide. Giggly girls clamour to snap a picture at every opportunity, guys rush to the gym vowing to get rid of their sloth and blubber each time he makes a splash in the back pages with yet another championship exploit.

Alas, Chua was a man among boys. There was a time when Malaysia ruled the roost in Asia, but still some way behind Pakistan and India. Now, it cannot even hold a candle against the likes of former minnows Japan and South Korea.

No doubt soon, China will become a hockey super power, pushing Malaysia further down the pecking order.

So when news broke that he was killed in a road accident, Malaysians mourned. It lost a genuine star at the height of his powers. Chua and his team were preparing for a big tournament.

The national hockey federation had just emerged from a state of minor turmoil and was just beginning to get their act together. Alas, man proposes, God disposes. Rest in peace Chua.

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RAZAK CHIK remembers the greatest hockey match ever – Malaysia beat Holland on home ground to advance to the semi-finals of the 3rd Hockey World Cup in 1975. The team comprised keepers Khairuddin ZainaI and Mohamed Azraai Zain, A Francis, Brian Sta Maria, K Balasingam, S Balasingam, Phang Poh Meng, Wong Choon Hin, R Pathmarajah, Len Oliveiro, M Palanisamy, R Ramakrishnan, Franco D’Cruz, M Mahendran and Poon Fook Loke.