KUALA LUMPUR: Nur Rahull Hrsikesa Thaitchana Muruthi turned up for work late in Penang after attending national hockey training a day earlier in Kuala Lumpur.
His boss wasn't too happy, and this led to Rahull quitting his job as a property manager. That's his sacrifice for the love of hockey.
Rahull, who scored 18 goals for Nurinsafi Sporting in the recent Malaysia Hockey League, was among 46 players called up by coach Sarjit Singh for national training.
The 26-year-old made the drastic move of quitting his job after exhausting all his unpaid leave and still had problems getting leave to train with the national team.
After work on Tuesday, he took a flight from Penang to attend the first day of national team training, which began at 9.45pm at the National Hockey Stadium in Bukit Jalil.
And the next morning (Wednesday) he flew back to Penang to work, but the management was unhappy with him coming late to office.
"After the first day of national training, including playing matches (on Tuesday night), I had a tough time going back to the office in the morning the next day.
"I reached the office around 10.30am. The management was unhappy with me and there was some conflict. So I quit my job to fully concentrate on national team training."
Following his sacrifice, Rahull hopes to be among the 30 players selected for the national team by the end of this month.
"And after that, I want to be in the 18-player squad for the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup (in Ipoh from May 4-11).
"I'm determined to give my best in training to impress coach Sarjit," he said.
Rahull is indeed a determined player, judging from the way he rushed up and down the country for national training.
He might have been a little late for work, but he could be the first name penciled down by Sarjit for the 30-man national team for his sacrifice.