Goalkeeping great S Kumar said Bill, 14, dreamt of playing for the national team and aspired to thrive at the highest level.
Bill, a national hockey development programme (NHDP) trainee from Sarawak, adored Kumar and wanted so much to be like him one day.
Kumar said he took a liking to the “happy boy” whom he met for the first time while conducting a goalkeeping skills clinic in conjunction with the ongoing Sultan Azlan Shah Cup here.
On Saturday, Bill got his wish to take a photograph with his idol Kumar, the nation’s longest-serving hockey goalkeeper.
Bill, who was under the NHDP centre at SMK Penrissen, Kuching, died the following day.
After taking his bath, he complained about feeling uneasy and collapsed in his room at the Perak National Sports Council hostel at about 7am. A post-mortem revealed Bill died of brain haemorrhage.
For Kumar, Bill’s passing brought back painful memories of his three-year-old son Harshenn who died after coming down with a fever in 2015.
He said he received the tragic news when he was with the national team in Antwerp, Belgium, for the World Hockey League semi-finals, a qualifier for the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics.
“I returned home to see my son in the coffin and it saddens me that Bill’s mother will see him in the same way.”
Kumar said he was left fighting back tears, thinking about a single mother losing her only son.
Malaysian Hockey Confederation (MHC) deputy president S Shamala said: “I can’t imagine what the mother, whose life story would break your heart even more, must be going through.
“The words ‘deepest condolences’ to his mother cannot really express the magnitude of exactly how we all feel.”
Shamala said fans, players and hockey officials observed a one-minute silence for Bill before the match between Malaysia and South Africa in a Sultan Azlan Shah Cup tie yesterday.
Malaysia mauled the African champions 7-2 and face Japan tonight at the Azlan Shah Stadium for a place in the final against South Korea.
National team manager Mirnawan Nawawi said: “While our mission is to make the final, we will also do it for Bill who was a keen cheerleader for the Speedy Tigers.”