Coach/Player
Arif Ali
Pursuing dream in a different way
Hockey is a really fast sports, and I think it needs to be played by very smart athletes."
Local hockey star enlightens a new generation of players
In 2014, the 35-year-old hockey player Arif Ali retired from the field, after all those glorious records of playing for Hong Kong national team in three Asian Games. The team came third in the 5th East Asian Games in 2009, with the legendary win in the Men’s Bronze Medal Match against China.
Arif has been a top midfielder and penalty corner specialist for the last decade. But he has decided to focus on coaching and hockey development. He is now the full-time coach for the Hong Kong women's team, as well as the head coach of Shaheen Sports Club.
“I think I have enjoyed enough playing in the top league. Over the past few year, I began a transition from player to coach,” said Ali.
Source: Arif Ali
2003 East Asia Game At King's Park Hockey Ground
Taking up the sports at 13 years old, it was just not talent but also hard work and persistence that brought Arif to success. He was a football fan as a child. But his parents banned him from football after he broke his left arm during a match. So Arif turned to hockey. He is Pakistani and most children in Pakistan try the sport.
In Hong Kong, no hockey player has ever become a full-time athlete. It took Arif two years to find his way in becoming a professional. Apart from training hard, he followed a strict fitness programme and a diet plan.
When he was 20, Ali got an offer to play in the Malaysia league. Then the opportunities came. He played four seasons in Malaysia, three in Singapore. He was then invited to play in the New Zealand, Australia and France.
“I believe this is the best thing I have ever done."
Arif grew up in a Muslim community in Shelley Street, Central.
“Hockey is the number one game in our area. In the past, there have always been at least seven or eight players in the Hong Kong team from Shelley Street,” he said.
Arif wanted to become a coach because believes that hockey can help to cultivate young children.
“I see so many Pakistani children who lost their track in life because of financial difficulties and racism,” he said, “but when they start to engage in sport, they start to have focus in life, and learn to become responsible young men.”
Apart from coaching the Hong Kong team, Arif also coaches at Shaheen Sports Club. It’s, a local club that focuses on Hong Kong hockey development.
“I like to coach elite players but at the same time, I also need to make sure we are promoting the game properly, monitoring junior development to make sure we are in the right direction,” he said.
“He doesn't only coach but inspires people to go for their dreams,” said Coby Lau Pui-Sze, one of Arif’s students in the Hong Kong team. “He has the charisma, power to gather potential players and train them.”
There are risks in being a full-time coach in Hong Kong because sports are usually not well funded by the government.
Arif thinks he is lucky to be the youngest boy in the family. His three olde brothers will have to get a stable job to support the family. “I am the youngest so I can get away from such heavy responsibilities," he said.
“I enjoy coaching now more than playing myself,” Arif said. “There is so much sense of achievement whenever you see students improve and reach a higher standard in hockey.”
He has hope for the next generation, and patiently guides them to pursue the dream he was once after. “If I can do it, so can they,” he concluded.
