Selvaraju Sandrakasi
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| Full name | Selvaraju Sandrakasi | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Nickname | Raju | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 21 July 1985 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Sport | Field hockey | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Position | Forward, Midfielder | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Selvaraju Sandarakasi (born 21 July 1985) is a Malaysian Field hockey coach and former international player. He was born in Taiping, Perak, Malaysia, and developed an interest in hockey from a young age.[1]
He attended Bukit Jalil Sports School. Through Malaysia's development pathway, he progressed through junior competitions and national age-group programmes, earning recognition as one of the country's most talented player.[1]
His performances at junior level led to opportunities with leading Malaysian clubs and eventually selection to the Malaysian national team. He later represented Malaysia in major international competitions, including the 2014 Commonwealth Games, Asian Cup, Sultan Azlan Shah Cup 2010 and 2007 Men's Hockey Champions Trophy[1]
Playing career
National Junior Squad
Selvaraju Sandrakasi played for Malaysia's National Junior Hockey Team. He was recognised as the "Most Skillful Player", "Top Scorer" and "Best Player" of the tournament in the Malaysian U-19 Junior League.[2]
National Squad
Selvaraju Sandrakasi represented Malaysia for more than a decade. He competed in major tournaments including the 2014 Commonwealth Games, 2007 Men's Hockey Champions Trophy, 2007 Men's Hockey Asia Cup, Sultan Azlan Shah Cup,[3] .
National Leagues
Selvaraju Sandrakasi started his club hockey career with Sapura Hockey Club in 2000. He later joined Tenaga Nasional Berhad Hockey Club in 2003, where he continued to develop as a player and recognized as "Men of the match" in 2004 Malaysia Men's Hockey League. [4] In 2009, he joined Unikl Hockey Club and played for the team for many years.
International Leagues
Selvaraju Sandrakasi played in many international leagues. He first played in Germany in 2006 and scored five goals in 12 Division One matches for Moenchengladbach. In 2008, he played for Berlin and scored seven goals in 10 matches. He was supposed to return to Berlin to continue playing for the Berliner HC in April but injury sidelined him.[5] He earned another call-up from Berlin for 2010 German League.[6]
In October 2009, Selvaraju had a stint in New Zealand for Division One side Midlands. He scored four goals in eight matches.[6] He also featured for Racing Club de France for two months from March 2010. He scored four goals in 12 French Division One matches. He received invitation to represent Air Force HC in Thailand, Singh Sabha HC in Hong Kong and Dandenong HC in Australia.[7][8]
In 2015, Selvaraju played for Pistoia Hockey Club in Italy.[9] His time in Italy contributed significantly as both a player and coach. Following his playing career, he later returned to Pistoia Hockey Club as head coach, where he was involved in player development and team performance programs.[10]
Coaching career
Selvaraju began as a assistance coach for Kuala Lumpur U-16 state tournament and Junior leagues U-19 in Malaysia. Over the years, he advanced to Head Coach position with teams including Razak Cup[11], 2010 Malaysia Junior Hockey League Unikl team. Among his notable achievements are leading Thailand leading the team to its first-ever Women's Indoor Asia Cup final appearance , winning a championship with DKI Jakarta Hockey. He also held Head coach position in Pistoia Hockey Club, Italy and Woodville Hockey Club, Australia.
References
- 1 2 3 "MALAYSIAN STALWART SELVARAJU DREAMS OF A PASSAGE TO INDIA". Stick2Hockey. Retrieved 23 June 2026.
- ↑ "News for 20 April 2024". fieldhockey.com. Retrieved 23 June 2026.
- ↑ "International Hockey Federation". tms.fih.ch. Archived from the original on 18 April 2025. Retrieved 23 June 2026.
- ↑ NAIMI, AZRUL (2 March 2003). "Tenaga lose their spark". The Star. Retrieved 23 June 2026.
- ↑ Injury forces Selvaraju to call off Berlin trip[link removed] – The Star, 5 February 2009.
- 1 2 Impressive Selvaraju earns another call-up from Berlin[link removed] – The Star, 25 December 2009.
- ↑ Selvaraju in demand after impressive stint in French League[link removed] – The Star, 30 May 2010.
- ↑ Selvaraju gets invitation to play in French Hockey League[link removed] – The Star, 10 July 2010.
- ↑ Pistoia Sport (10 October 2015). Hockey Club Pistoia, parla Selvaraju Sandrakasi. Retrieved 23 June 2026 – via YouTube.
- ↑ Insert source here
- ↑ BERNAMA (18 September 2020). "KL begin quest for 20th Razak Cup title with high-scoring win over Pahang". BERNAMA. Retrieved 23 June 2026.