Hockey’s loss is kabaddi’s gain as ex-international Gurmit Singh eyes gold in Thailand SEA Games

Gurmit Singh is a familiar figure in Malaysia’s hockey scene, but at the 2025 SEA Games in Thailand, he will be aiming to help the national kabaddi squad win a gold medal.

It may come as a surprise to some, as the 62-year-old represented Malaysia in hockey and was part of the winning squad at the 1999 SEA Games in Brunei. He later served as assistant coach to national hockey coach Sarjit Singh between 2006 and 2009.

A former physical instructor with the Royal Malay Regiment, Gurmit also coached Indonesia and Hong Kong’s national hockey teams.

What many may not know is that he has long been involved in kabaddi.

“I returned from a coaching stint in Hong Kong last year and was hoping to secure a job with one of Malaysia’s hockey teams, but there were no vacancies,” said Gurmit.

“As fate would have it, Federal Territories Kabaddi Association (FTKA) president Padmanathan Engaittraman became head of the Kabaddi Association of Malaysia. He remembered me coaching the Federal Territories kabaddi team on and off for several years.

“He offered me the job to coach the national team, and we have set our sights on winning a gold medal in Bangkok.”

Malaysia’s kabaddi team leaves for Thailand tomorrow as the sport makes its SEA Games debut. Six gold medals are on offer at the Royal Thai Government Sports Operations Centre Building, Rajamangala University of Technology Rattanakosin in Bangkok. The events are men’s and women’s Standard, Super Five, and Three Star.

“I am confident we will win several medals, but the target is at least one gold,” said Gurmit. “Thailand will be the favourite, as it has been training all year and has a top coach from India.

“Our men’s team trained in India for 40 days, while our women trained in Penang. We are confident we can make Malaysia proud in Bangkok.”

Hockey’s loss is kabaddi’s gain, as Gurmit channels his experience and discipline into his new sporting passion.

“All the discipline, training, and hard work I learnt as a hockey player and a soldier are now benefiting the kabaddi team,” he said. “As much as I love hockey, I’m now focused on taking kabaddi to the next level.”

He added that FTKA has started an Under-12 programme, with plans to introduce the sport to national primary and secondary schools.

“Kabaddi is still mainly played in Tamil schools, but for the sport to grow, we need the other races to compete as well,” said Gurmit.

“Kabaddi is already in the Asian Games, and countries like South Korea and Japan are competitive. The goal is the Olympics, and once that happens, the sport will explode in popularity. We need to build the base now.”