Team back in action after 9 years

By Y.P. SIVAM

TEAM UNDERDOGS, a inline hockey team, has been revived and will be Malaysia’s representatives in the Asia Pacific Cup inline hockey competition in Singapore on Nov 22-25. 

Two enthusiastic youngsters – Craig Matthew Lee and Ramesh Ramakrishnan – have taken the initiative to gather a group of players for the competition. Both Lee and Ramesh are qualified inline hockey instructors and are actively conducting training sessions for beginners. 

Lee, who had formed Team Underdogs in 1995, said they were forced to take a break in 1997. According to Lee, the reason for the long break was lack of proper training venue as well as corporate support. 

“In 1995, when we started the team, we had the PJ Arena as the main venue. The facilities were excellent and there were about 20 active clubs involved in inline hockey. Unfortunately, the venue was damaged and no efforts were made to repair the equipment. 

Lee briefing Team Underdog players before one of their training sessions.

Lee: 'We are also proud as we are the first group of players to represent Malaysia in an international inline competition.'

“Now the PJ Arena is being used for extreme sports. But we still continued to be involved in inline hockey related activities,” explained Lee. 

But early this year, Lee and Ramesh felt that the time was right to revive Team Underdogs. They managed to gather about 30 enthusiasts for their regular training sessions at an open-air two-tier tennis courts in Taman SEA. Before the fasting month, trainings were held twice a week. 

Late last month, Team Underdogs decided to take part in the Asia Pacific Cup. As it is the fasting month, training sessions were held thrice a week. The sessions were held at night from 9pm to 11pm.  

Lee said they were grateful to the Taman SEA Residents Association for allowing them to use the facilities. 

“The RA have been very supportive and Petaling Jaya City Council (MBPJ) were gracious in providing us a venue to train regularly. Now we are more organised and the players are happy. 

“We are also proud as we are the first group of players to represent Malaysia in an international inline competition. For us, it is the beginning,'' said Lee. 

Ramesh getting geared up for training.

The Asia Pacific Cup is organised by the Suntec Integrated Media and endorsed by the Singapore Sports Council.  

The competition is part of the Sports and Fitness Expo. Besides Malaysia, the other countries involved in the Asia Pacific Cup are Hong Kong, Taiwan, Indonesia, Australia, England, New Zealand, Sierra Leone and France. 

Lee admitted that it would be difficult for them to expect outstanding results in the competition. 

“The competition will be an opportunity to gauge ourselves against the other teams. We are going into the unknown and the other teams are more experienced. The competition is a testing ground for our players. We expect the players to return rich in experience and exposure,” said Lee. 

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