KUALA LUMPUR: Yahya Atan was a wizard on the hockey pitch in his heyday and a dedicated coach after retiring as a player.
Yahya suffered a stroke a few days ago and never recovered from it. He died yesterday at the age of 67.
Yahya was a soft-spoken and friendly individual who was passionate about hockey.
Known as Pak Yah by his peers in the hockey fraternity, he was the heart of the Malaysian hockey team at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Games.
After retiring as a player, Yahya dedicated his life to coaching and grooming players. He had also served the Malaysian Hockey Confederation as their national junior and women's coach.
A few years ago, this scribe and Pak Yah were watching a match at the KLHA Stadium here when he suddenly collapsed from his seat and had to receive CPR from the medical team, which were there for the match.
He never let it stop his love for hockey, and a few weeks later, he was back on the stands watching matches with that big smile of his.
"It is nothing la! I was just tired and took a short vacation by the beach (Pantai hospital)!," Yahya said when this scribe met him after his discharge.
When asked recently about his Sabah Malaysia Hockey League coaching stint, Yahya said he loved the multi-ethnicity environment most.
"When I was playing for the country, hockey was a multi-racial sport, and that is what made it special. We not only became brothers but also learned to respect each other's culture and religion," said Yahya.
His famous webinar two years back was titled:"Good coaches change games, great coaches change lives."
He was chief coach of the 2001 Tasmania Junior World Cup team. And when four hungry and tired Malaysian journalists made the trip to his hotel room in freezing Hobart, he immediately provided hot meals before answering questions regarding the tournament.
Yahya truly changed many lives in the three decades he was involved with hockey at every level in the country.