Kandy Times

Representing your country in any given sport for twenty years on the trot is not an achievement that comes the way of all and sundry. However, S.M. Mulafer, a product of Zahira College Matale has this fairly unique distinction. Turning out for the country in international hockey both here and abroad from 1975 to 1995, Mulafer also had the coveted captaincy thrust on him from 1985 to 1987.

Some measure of his talent as a centre half; his all round expertise and his stature can be gleaned from the following.

“Apart from Sounderanayagam, the other player in outstanding form was Mulafer who played the game of his life before his home crowd”. (Sri Lanka – Singapore at Matale).

“Dynamic Centre half SM Mulafer will lead the young Lankan outfit. Much of Lanka’s hopes will be trusted upon the youngster’s shoulders. He can click in any position if the necessity arises, which is why he is of immense value to his side” Pre Oman tour.

“Skipper Mulafer was outstanding. A player who plays his heart out, Mulafer occupied the crucial centre half position and controlled the game beautifully by feeding the forwards constantly and managing the defence with authority”

His talent as well as that of H.M. Muzammil was recognized by Calcutta’s Mohan Bagan Football & Athletic Club which offered them a contract. However they had to turn it down as one was in the Army and the other in the Police.

Though Mulafer was the first choice centre half for the 1978 Asian games, the cried off on account of injury. His international career took the same year when he toured Bangladesh under Mohamed Jahn. Two of the tests were drawn and one was won. Around this time, he was also voted the best player in the annual Corera Cup game against Madras.

He was part of the teams that took part in the 1982 Asia Cup in Pakistan and the 1985 version in Bangladesh under Muzammil.

Another versatile player, Sarath Wimalasinghe, captained the national side in 1983 and Mulafer more than played his part in a 3- nil series rout of Singapore. It was Mulafer’s turn to lead in 1985 and his team won the series against Oman on home soil 3-0. The following year his team repeated the dose but this time, Mulafer was captain cum coach.

As assistant coach and coach of the national; team, his duties have taken him to Hong Kong twice for the Asian Hockey Federation Cup in 1997 and 2001 where Sri Lanka won bronze. A silver medal came Sri Lanka’s way under his coaching in Singapore (2003) and in 2004 his team hit the jack-pot by winning a four nation tournament, once more in Singapore, under the present skipper Prasanna Abeyratne.His ventures in 2005 and 2006 were not so successful, with Sri Lanka finishing fourth out of six in an under 18 tournament in Bangladesh, and in an Asian games qualifier where the team ended fifth out of six.

His exploits with the Army and Defence Services have been most commendable. The Defence services have been national champions nine years coached by him were champions at the 2005 Inter club tournament in Bangkok where almost 200 teams participated. In case you are wondering how the Army connection came about, Mulafer joined the Army in 1977 as a signalman and is presently a class one warrant officer.

His hockey credentials are impeccable, having followed high performance coaching courses in Australia (2002) and Germany (2003). In the same year, he also attended special High Performance coaching courses in Kuala Lumpur and Hyderabad. The Olympic solidarity courses held in Sri Lanka in 1987, 1994 and 1995 which he attended, were small beer.

He mentions forwards Ranjith Alahakoon, Sounderanayagam, Muzammil, Kuthubdeen, Sarath Wimalasinghe (Half) backs Selvakumar, Sarath Serasinghe and goalies Johnny Martin, Rafaideen and Nandasiri as some of the outstanding players he played with.

As far as top international players are concerned, Mulafer opts for Pakistanis Akhthar Rasool (center half) Hanif Khan (left inside) Zaftar Abbas (left extreme) and Indians Ajit Pal Singh (center half) Govinda and Ashok Kumar (center forward).

Mulafer is most emphatic on one point. “Sri Lanka’s hockey has not gone down. It is just that hockey in other countries has improved? (It is not a case of being wise after the event, because these comments were made on the eve of the Sri Lanka – Bangladesh Bronze medal play off which Sri Lanka won 2-0) Mulafer points out that India and Pakistan which dominated world Hockey in the fifties and sixties now occupy only the 6th and 7th places. “Can you say that their hockey has deteriorated?” he questions.

Mulafer bemoans the lack of club hockey in Sri Lanka and the paucity of exposure that the present players have both here and abroad. The Hockey Nationals are, for many players, the only eleven a side tournament they can play in.