KUALA LUMPUR: Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB) is not only a major sponsor in Malaysian hockey, but is also doing its part in the sport's development here.
Over the weekend, it organised the TNB Thunderbolts tournament for boys' (six-a-side) and girls' (seven-a-side) in Under-12 and Under-18 categories in Kuala Lumpur.
A whopping 122 teams from all over Malaysia took part.
Five national players — Syed Syafiq Syed Cholan, Azrai Aizad Abu Kamal, Shello Silverius, Norsyafiq Sumantri and Amirul Hamizan Azahar — who are TNB employees, joined the junior teams in friendly matches.
TNB head of corporate affairs, Mazliza Zahari, said the goal of the event is to unearth new talent.
TNB Thunderbolts programme head, Nor Saiful Zaini, said the tournament had attracted teams from as far as Kedah and Terengganu.
"We are doing all we can to help hockey development in the country."
He said TNB Thunderbolts have six schools under its programme. They are Tunku Mahkota Ismail Sports School, Bukit Jalil Sports School, SMK Anderson of Ipoh, SMK Seberang Temerloh of Pahang, SMK Syed Hassan in Perlis and SMK Pengkalan Permatang in Selangor.
National player Azrai Aizad said the TNB Thunderbolts tournament would further boost hockey interest among boys and girls.
"It's good to see them here. Some of them have the potential to go on to play for the country in the future," he added.