KUMAR IS ASIA'S BEST GOALKEEPER

Malaysian goalkeeper S. Kumar was today named as Asia's best player by the Asian Hockey Federation at its Congress held in Kuala Lumpur.

The 32 year old was the first Malaysian to win the award as prior to this Tengku Ahmad Tajuddin was awarded the Best Youth Player award.
It was indeed a surprise for Kumar, who has been adjudged the best goalkeeper in eight international tournaments.

The year 2010 was a mixed year for Kumar who lost his father, Subramaniam, in the midst of the Commonwealth Games in New Delhi.
But he went on to represent Malaysia at the Asian Games, where Malaysia won the silver medal, their first ever such medal in the Asian Games.
"It is indeed a honour that I will cherish and I dedicate this award to my late father who encouraged me right from the begining," said Kumar.
"Without the sacrifices of my father, I will not be here today.
"My dream is to play at the Olympics and the next one year will be difficult as Malaysia needs to prepare well for the qualifiers."

ASIAN HOCKEY FEDERATION AWARDS

SULTAN AZLAN SHAH AWARD
Thailand Hockey Association

MEMBER OF HONOUR
Dato’ Seri Muneyoshi Ueda – Japan

ORDER OF MERIT
Mr. Mathavan Devadas – Singapore

AHF PRESIDENT’S AWARD FOR MAN
Mr. Lei Jun – China

AHF PRESIDENT’S AWARD FOR WOMAN
Ms. Shun Jun Hee – Korea

AHF PLAYERS AWARD – 2009
Man – You Hyo Sik (Korea)
Woman – Baorung Fu (China)
Boy – Muhammad Tooseeq (Pakistan)
Girl – Mazuki Arai (Japan)

AHF PLAYERS AWARD – 2010
Man – S. Kumar (Malaysia)
Woman – Park Mih Yun (Korea)
Boy – Syed Kashif Shah (Pakistan)
Girl – Zhao Yudiao