Asian Champions Trophy: Semifinals secured, Malaysia coaches turn to Rajini’s Jailer | Hockey News

With Malaysia edging past South Korea 1-0 to inch closer to the semifinals of the Asian Champions Trophy, head coach Arul Anthoni and assant coach Kumar Subramaniam have set their sights on the next target. With the tournament coinciding with Rajinikanth’s Jailer movie release on Thursday, the two former players, who have their roots in Tamil Nadu, are now waiting to watch the movie and if lady luck smiles, an appointment with the actor himself.
Anthoni hails from the town Kumbakonnam, which is famous for its filter coffee, and has fond memories of being here as a player in 1996 for the Chief Miner’s Trophy. Now settled in Ireland, Anthoni has been entertaining a bevy of visitors since landing in the city. “This is the longest stay I’ve had in Chennai, and all my cousins have been coming over. I’ve just written their names down because I’m meeting them after such a long time that it has completely slipped out of memory,” says Anthoni. “But more than anything, we now have a chance to watch Rajnikanth. We know he is a phenomenon and have experienced his fandom in Malaysia, but we have to experience it here in Chennai.”
If Anthoni is a bit subdued, with Subramaniam it is the polar opposite. The former player, who has had a troubled past, is more into spirituality these days. And more than watching the movie for obvious reasons, his connect with Rajinikanth is for entirely different reasons. “Of course, I’m a fan of the actor, but the bigger connect I’ve with him is around spirituality. Whenever I’m in a bad phase or feeling low, it is Rajinikanth who comes as a guiding light. When I was out suspended because of doping, it was him who came in my dreams and handed me a rope to tie in my hand. And a few days later I had my suspension revoked, which is why I see him as a spiritual guru. Lots of people see God in their dreams, who comes as a guiding light. But for me, it has always been Rajinikanth…who comes dressed in a white dress. I’ve woken up many times and see there is no one around me. So to meet him would be a special moment,” Subramaniam says.

A nail biting end to a close encounter. Here are some glimpses. #HockeyIndia #IndiaKaGame #HACT2023 pic.twitter.com/kErTnZTCGp
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A few years back he even had the chance to meet Rajinijkanth, when the actor was shooting for his movie Kabali in Malaysia. “I even ended up at the shooting spot and was close to him, but I just froze. I couldn’t even walk up to him and say a few words,” he says.
On the field, the two coaches have been striving hard to keep the players physically ready in order to overcome the extreme conditions. With most of Malaysia’s matches being at 4:15 pm and 6:15 pm, they have played in gruelling conditions that have seen most of their players losing up to 3kgs a game.
“It has been very hard on the players. There is very little time to recover as we are playing seven matches in 10 days and there is a quick turnaround. And with the Asian Games coming up we have to take utmost care of the players and our trainer is doing everything he can to keep them going. When we weigh in and weigh out, there is a big difference. Normally they lose around 1-1.5 kgs a game, but here they have lost around 2.5-3 kg because of the heat and humidity. Since it is fluids, we can control the weight. We are measuring their water intake based on the urine colour test,” Anthoni said.
With the Asian Games being their prime target, Subramaniam was roped in Anthoni to ass the two goalkeepers who have been his understudy during his playing days. “When Anthoni came in, he wanted me to come in. Like many others, I too hesitated to come back to the team soon after I retired because I have played with them. But, since it is goalkeeping I took it up as you are around more as a mentor and just passing on the finer details like positioning,” Subramaniam said.
Subramaniam has also been tapping on India’s veteran goalkeeper PR Sreejesh for inputs. “We are always in touch and since we both speak Tamil we hit it off immediately. When I came here, I asked Sreejesh as to how our goalkeepers have been performing and he had some encouraging words to say. For most of us keepers, there is fear of getting hit and even with all the protection, there is still apprehension. So it is all about reducing that and giving them confidence,” Subramaniam says.