Para lawn bowler on a mission to coach others with disabilities

LAWN bowls is a sport very close to Penangite Lim Hock Kee’s heart.

 

Ever since he was introduced to the game 12 years ago, the polio-stricken Hock Kee has developed a passion for it.

 

He has won numerous championships at state, national and international levels. His best achievement was at the 2014 Asian Para Games in Incheon, South Korea, where he won two bronze medals – in the single (B7) and mixed pairs with Halimah Hassan.

 

Hock Kee (standing behind rostrum, right) at the prize presentation during the 2014 Asian Para Games in Incheon, South Korea. He won a bronze medal (below) in the singles.

 

And now, the 70-year-old retired health assistant is on a mission.

 

“I am still keen to represent the country. I became serious about the game in 2010 after my retirement as a health assistant.

 

“In the past seven years, I have also been coaching other people with disabilities (OKU). So, whoever is an OKU and would like to try your hand at lawn bowls, do contact me (017-476 5182),” Hock Kee told Buletin Mutiara in an interview.

 

Currently, he has a dozen OKU players, including four who contracted polio, training under him every Saturday from 9.30am to 12.30pm at the Bertam Sports Complex in Kepala Batas.

 

Alex Teoh Liang Tze competing in the 2018 Para Sukma Perak under the watchful eyes of Hock Kee. Alex and Mohd Basir Md Daud won a silver in the pairs.

 

“I only want players who are interested to learn or else we will be wasting our time. I don’t pamper players. It is only through discipline that the players can improve.

 

“Players must be able to take some hardship, like training under the hot sun or even when it rains. We only call off the training when there is thunder and lightning.

 

“While skills are important, I believe that the mental strength of an athlete makes a difference. When you are playing against a formidable opponent, you need to be mentally tough,” he added.

 

The Bertam Sports Complex in Kepala Batas where Hock Kee and his charges practise every Saturday.

 

Hock Kee was struck by polio when he was three years old, presumably after developing a high fever as he learnt from his mother.

 

Although he has a weakened right leg, he can still walk and hike, but not run. Sometimes, he may suffer from foot drop.

 

Hock Kee picked up lawn bowls during a promotional campaign conducted by the Persatuan Orang-Orang Cacat Anggota Malaysia (Pocam) or Society of the Orthopaedically Handicapped Malaysia in Bukit Kiara 12 years ago.

 

Hiking is one of Hock Kee’s favourite pastimes.

 

“It may not be so attractive to some people. The game looks slow and not aggressive. But it requires a lot of skills and knowledge to master it.

 

“In overseas, people even in the 80s and 90s play the game for exercise,” he said.

 

For lawn bowls to flourish in the state, he said there must be more proper pitches or greens.

 

Hock Kee participating in Merdeka Ride on 16 March 2014 to celebrate the opening of the Sultan Abdul Halim Muadzam Shah Bridge (2nd Penang Bridge). The official opening ceremony of the bridge was held on 1 March, 2014.

 

Hock Kee has always been sports minded and loved outdoor activities, such as hiking, cycling and swimming. Besides that, he has also represented Penang in para badminton.

 

Life for him, he said, was tough in the earlier years as a father of three and the sole breadwinner of the family.

 

He worked two jobs, becoming a dispenser at a private clinic in Gelugor after finishing his regular work in the hospital.

 

In all, he had spent 37 years in the civil service – first at the Balik Pulau Hospital, then at the Perak Road Clinic and lastly at the Penang Hospital.

 

Ananthi Suppiah posing with the gold medal she won in the Class B8 category at the 2018 Para Sukma Perak. With her is her coach Hock Kee.

 

Today, he is a proud grandfather of three grandchildren. All his three children are now teaching in different secondary schools in Penang.

 

For Hock Kee, his focus is now more on management and coaching, thanks to the support given by the Penang State Recreational and Sport Association for the People With Disabilities or better known as PESRON Pulau Pinang (Persatuan Sukan dan Rekreasi Orang Kurang Upaya Negeri Pulau Pinang).

 

Story by K.H. Ong

Pix courtesy of Lim Hock Kee