NATIONAL trainee Syarman Mat Tee lost his father, also his No 1 fan, Mat Tee Mat Ali on Sunday.
And the heartbreak has made the 19-year-old even more determined to make it big in hockey.
He hopes to make national coach Arul Selvaraj's list of 25 players.
Syarman's father died on Sunday at the Kajang Hospital and was buried in Kuala Lumpur yesterday.
Syarman is one of the 37 national trainees in Arul's squad. The coach will trim the squad to 25 players by the end of this month or early next month.
"Syarman was released from camp (NSC hostel) when his father became very ill on Sunday.
"His father had encouraged the up-and-coming player to take up hockey.
"His father passed away and was buried today (yesterday) in KL," said national senior team manager Datuk Mirnawan Nawawi.
The national trainees are currently housed at the National Sports Council (NSC) hostel in Bukit Jalil. They have to observe strict Covid-19 guidelines until Oct 27.
"We have told Syarman to take his time and settle his family matters first, and not to worry about training.
"He is also eligible to play for the junior team.
"I explained to him that we will trim the squad from 37 to 25 players by the end of this month or the first week of next month. We will inform him accordingly.
"Trainees, who are below 21, will join Wallace Tan's junior squad if they are dropped from the senior team."
Wallace has 26 players under his wings, excluding another six who are with the senior team.
His team are preparing for the Junior Asia Cup, a Junior World Cup qualifier, on Jan 21-30 in Dhaka.