KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian Hockey Confederation (MHF) president Tengku Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah was a stunned man yesterday.
One cannot blame him though. On Wednesday night, he was seen joking with national forward Chua Boon Huat during the Buka Puasa in a hotel here.
Tengku Abdullah, who handed out incentives of RM190,500 to national players for finishing fourth in the Champions Challenge 1 tournament in Argentina last November and for finishing third in the second Asian Champions Trophy in Doha last December, was even seen commenting on Boon Huat’s weight.
“I was joking with him about needing to lose some weight so that he could run faster during the Asia Cup in Ipoh (from Aug 24 to Sept 1). But I did not know that we will lose him for good,” said Tengku Abdullah at the University Hospital mortuary yesterday.
In fact, none of his team-mates and team coaches would have even dreamed about what would have happened next.
The 33-year-old Boon Huat, who also featured in the recent Champions Challenge 1, had received RM5,500 for his efforts at 7pm on Wednesday but eight hours later he died in a car accident at 2.55am (Thursday).
Boon Huat died of severe head injuries after slamming his Proton Perdana car into a tanker, which was watering the plants on LDP Highway. The Fire Brigade had to extricate his body from the car.
Tengku Abdullah met the family of Boon Huat at the mortuary to offer his condolence.
“I am really sad with his sudden demise as he was a dedicated and committed player who always gave his best in tournaments. He also set a good example on and off the field,” said Tengku Abdullah.
“We lost a valuable player who was the most capped player in the national team. He was backbone of the team and was a role model for the young and up-coming players.
“The national players are shocked and sad over his death. But I told the players that they have to stay focused for the Asia Cup, which an important tournament to qualify for next year’s World Cup.
“The players should qualify for the World Cup for the sake of Boon Huat who was the only Chinese player in the national team,” said Tengku Abdullah.
The national team need to win the Asia Cup to qualify for next year’s World Cup in Hague, Holland.
Youth and Sports Minister Khairy Jamaluddin, who was also at the mortuary, also expressed shock Boon Huat’s sudden death.
“It was a sad day for national hockey team as they lost a good player. He was an outstanding player and was an inspiration to other hockey players. I have told that the police to investigate how the accident happen,” said Khairy.
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