WITH a sporting King as your guiding light, even the sky is not the limit for Universiti Kuala Lumpur (UniKL).
It all started when the Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri'ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah (then known as Tengku Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah), the chancellor of UniKL, launched the hockey club, which debuted in the Malaysia Hockey League (MHL) in 2009.
Eleven years on, UniKL have become the undisputed champions by winning the Charity Shield, the league and the TNB Cup under coach Arul Selvaraj and consultant Datuk Mirnawan Nawawi.
And a teary-eyed Arul said: “Credit goes to the management of UniKL, especially their chief executive officer Professor Datuk Dr Mazliham Su’ud and club president Datuk Amir Azhar Ibrahim for turning this team into champions.”
Amir was with UniKL back then as well, and from a wide-eyed novice, who was never ashamed to ask and learn, he is now the backbone of the club.
Arul will return to coach his academy in Dublin soon but will keep a keen eye on his players from abroad.
“I will give them a training schedule to follow and will monitor their progress.
“UniKL players who are selected for national duty will have their programmes, while those who are not will have a specific programme to follow.
“When I see them again next year, I want them to be as fit as I left them,” he added.
UniKL defeated Terengganu Hockey Team (THT) 2-1 in Saturday’s TNB Cup final in Bukit Jalil.