KUALA LUMPUR – Hockey defender Muhammad Syafiq Hassan, in a proud admission, said he was willing to sacrifice wedding bliss in order to shoulder the responsibility of national duty by playing in the Olympic qualifiers in Muscat, Oman from January 15-21.
The 24-year-old athlete said he and his newly married partner Nurul Faezah Shafiqah Khalim mutually agreed to postpone their honeymoon two days after the ceremony so he could join the Speedy Tigers training camp ahead of the qualifiers.
Muhammad Syafiq said that although it was a difficult decision to make on December 22, he had to accept his responsibilities as a national player to help the team hunt for a slot in the 2024 Paris Olympics.
“My wedding ceremony was in Melaka on December 22-23, on December 24 I returned to the capital and started training the very next day, which means the honeymoon was postponed.
“In terms of time allocation, I take care of marriage matters in the morning and in the evening, I do individual training such as running and gymwork,” he told Bernama, during a training session for the 2024 Paris Olympic Games qualification here recently.
Muhammad Syafiq said his wife, who is a former national hockey player herself, understands the mantra of ‘duty comes first’ and is always supportive of his hockey career, even though it means they have to be apart.
In the meantime, Muhammad Syafiq who has just fully recovered from a knee injury, has no problem returning to competitive play despite missing several major tournaments last year.
Despite being busy undergoing rehabilitation prior, he also actively carried out fitness training on his own to ensure he remained in competitive fitness to match the Speedy Tigers.
“However, what I am thinking is tactical because I have already missed two big hockey games, namely the 2023 Men’s World Cup Hockey Tournament in India and the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games at the Gongshu Canal sports park stadium,” he said.
However, he said that the national team, under coach Arul Selvaraj, helped him a lot in terms of building confidence during the training session that started on January 1.
Last Friday, Arul announced 18 players to bring the country’s challenge to the qualification for the Olympic Games, starting this January 13 in Oman, and Muhammad Syafiq was one of the players named for the match.
In Oman, the Speedy Tigers are scheduled to face Great Britain, Pakistan and China in Group A, while Group B consists of Germany, New Zealand, Canada and Chile. – January 8, 2024