PHNOM PENH, May 15 — Revenge will never be the reason should former national women’s hockey head coach Muhammad Dharma Raj Abdullah decide to accept the offer of becoming an Indonesian citizen.
The Indonesian national hockey team technical director said he has no grudge or dissatisfaction towards the top leadership of the Malaysian Hockey Confederation (MHC), although he was disappointed with the treatment he received in Malaysia previously.
Dharma Raj, who is also in charge of Indonesia’s men’s and women’s indoor hockey squads as well as the men’s and women’s field hockey teams, said the conflict with MHC forced him to decide to leave his family and his beloved team to travel to Indonesia, where he faced tough times.
“At that time (of conflict), the situation was very tense but I hold no grudges against anyone although I was very disappointed with what happened because I had to leave my family (to go to Indonesia) as well as the national team that I had nurtured for years… it was very sad.
“I had no choice then, I just left like that. I struggled in the West Java province during the Covid-19 pandemic — my salary was affected, I could not come back, I struggled to live alone for 18 months there and suffered from depression,” he told Bernama, earlier today.
Yesterday, Dharma Raj as he is popularly known revealed that he had been offered Indonesian citizenship through the Indonesian Hockey Federation to continue his efforts to develop men’s and women’s hockey in the republic.
He added his love for the Indonesian hockey family, who took him in after his contract with the MHC ended in December 2019, prompted him to consider the offer.
Dharma Raj decided not to reapply for the post as coach of the national women’s team because he felt as if he had been ‘humiliated’, following allegations he had turned against the MHC.
Elaborating, hesaid he will always be indebted to the Malaysian government, especially the NSC for all the help and support given to him throughout his time guiding the national team.
“I feel that the Malaysian government helped by spending almost RM1 million to make me a coach. They sent me to Germany, the Netherlands, Argentina and India. So, I will always be grateful to the Malaysian government and the NSC,” said the experienced 53-year-old coach.
Dharma Raj was appointed as the Technical Director for the Indonesian national team after serving 10 months as the West Java province Technical Director for hockey.
Since his appointment, Indonesia’s performance has improved drastically and Dharma Raj’s presence in Cambodia saw the Indonesian Republic’s men’s indoor hockey squad create history by winning the SEA Games gold medal, ironically after beating Malaysia in the final.
After Dharma Raj’s appointment, Indonesia’s men’s and women’s indoor hockey teams featured in the 2022 Asia Cup and finished in fourth place and runner-up positions respectively while the men’s and women’s field hockey squads will play in the 2023 Asian Games.
Meanwhile, among his notable achievements with the Malaysian team was winning the gold medal at the 2017 Kuala Lumpur SEA Games and being runners-up in the Second Round of the Women’s Hockey World League (WHWL) and fifth at the Jakarta-Palembang 2018 Asian Games.
He also guided the national men’s junior team to fourth place in the 2013 Junior World Cup in New Delhi, India.
— Bernama
