King Appointed FIH Honorary Member

THE Yang di-Pertuan Agong, Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah, is an Honorary Member of the International Hockey Federation (FIH).

His Majesty, who is also the Chancellor of Universiti Kuala Lumpur (UniKL), was named an Honorary Member at the #Hockeyinvites virtual conference held on the opening day of the 47th FIH Congress on May 21.

The FIH, in its official website, stated that Al-Sultan Abdullah’s recognition was due to His Majesty’s tireless efforts in promoting and developing hockey.

“His Majesty Al-Sultan Abdullah Ahmad Shah, who is the current Royal Patron of the Asian Hockey Federation, has initiated the regeneration of hockey in Asia and vowed to recreate its status as an extravaganza and symbolic sport on the Asian and global platform,” it said.

His Majesty has also been instrumental in UniKL having its hockey stadium located at the UniKL Malaysia France Institute in Bangi. The 500-seat Tengku Abdullah Hockey Stadium was officially launched on August 20, 2018.

Numerous hockey national associations and other individuals were also recognised in the FIH awards.

Uzbekistan Hockey Federation was awarded Pablo Negre Award due to their tremendous efforts to improve playing conditions through new infrastructure and the implementation of youth development models as the country strives to become a major hockey hub of Central Asia.

The Polish Hockey Association received the Theo Ikema Award, thanks to various hockey development projects resulting in 30 newly trained coaches and over 3,000 schoolchildren being introduced to the sport within the country.

As for the individuals, inspirational England and Great Britain striker Sam Ward – who suffered a career-threatening eye injury in 2019 – was revealed as the recipient of the Super Fair Play Trophy René G Frank.

“It comes in recognition of his perseverance, dedication, and energy not only in his recovery but also raising awareness of mental health issues and even volunteering his time to deliver food and medicines to his local community and supporting a young leukaemia patient, Alfie,” it added.

Sharon Williamson of New Zealand was named as the winner of the HRH Sultan Azlan Shah Award for dedicating thousands of voluntary hours toward the delivery of New Zealand’s brand-new National Hockey Centre in Auckland.