We did it: Indonesia celebrate after winning the indoor hockey gold. - Reuters.
PHNOM PENH: Former national women’s hockey head coach K. Dharmaraj who is the Indonesian national hockey team’s technical director since 2021 will soon become an Indonesian citizen if he accepts an offer for citizenship made by the Indonesian government.
The offer for citizenship was to enable Dharmaraj to continue his efforts to develop men and women’s hockey in the republic.
Dharmaraj who is currently the technical director for the Indonesian national team, is also in charge of the men’s and women’s indoor hockey squads as well as the men’s and women’s field hockey teams said the offer was made by the Indonesian Hockey Federation before the start of the 2023 Cambodia SEA Games.
According to him, he was studying the offer to become an Indonesian citizen carefully because it would be a major decision that involves relinquishing his status as a Malaysian citizen.
"Giving up Malaysian citizenship is something that must be considered very carefully because if I chose to become an Indonesian citizen, I will have to give up my Malaysian citizenship.
"I have already informed my family about the offer but my wife and children are not in favour of becoming Indonesian citizens. They want to remain as Malaysian citizens because the distance between Malaysia and Indonesia is only a two-hour flight,” the 53-year-old said.
Dharmaraj added that he was overwhelmed by the affection shown by the Indonesian hockey family who welcomed him with open arms.
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 women’s indoor hockey team to the gold medal in the Philippines SEA Games after coaching the team for just one month. - Bernama
