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Unus Alladin

IT was a feeling beyond words for Robert Clift.

  Standing on the victory dais, the gold medal around his neck and singing to the strains of God Save The Queen , Clift couldn't describe the proud moment other than as one of pure elation.

  Clift, a member of the Great Britain hockey squad, had just won the gold medal in the 1988 Seoul Olympics.

  ''I won't forget it. I'll cherish it,'' said the 31-year-old Hongkong Bank executive, on that autumn day in Seoul.

  ''I sang the national anthem as loud as I could. It was nice being part of a team who had worked hard so together. A special bond was created with the players.''     Overjoyed by Great Britain's gold medal win, Clift later kept the medal in a bank depository after hearing that teammate Veryan Pappin had his stolen.

 It commemorated a season in which everything went right.

  ''Everything had fallen into place in the competition,'' said the Englishman who was to become Great Britain captain in Barcelona four years later but has since retired from international competition and now plays club level with Hong Kong Football Club in the local First Division.

  Great Britain were Olympic hockey champions after defeating West Germany 3-1 in a memorable final and Clift played an integral part in the squad's success.

  Clift played inside left or left midfield, and the final etched itself indelibly on his mind.

  ''I remember I was the last player who had the ball when the final whistle blew. We were a bit excited that we had won the final. We ran in circles and I forgot to pick up the ball after the match,'' he said.

  ''We later went for a meal. But I couldn't sleep. I ended up in the athletes' village in the middle of the night and was involved in a food fight. It was the last day of the Olympic competition before the closing ceremony,'' he said.

      But despite Great Britain's dizzying success in the Olympic arena, hockey still remains largely an amateur sport back home.

  ''Even after we won the gold medal, public interest was not sufficient to get a large crowd or to get sponsorship,'' Clift said.

  ''But by remaining amateur, more people can become involved in it cause they want to and not because they want it to become their profession.''   Four years after the Seoul success, Clift was made Great Britain captain in Barcelona but the defending champions fell well short of expectations and finished a disappointing sixth.

     Clift is now using his experience to help Hong Kong hockey by coaching the experimental youth team, the Tigers, who are the only unbeaten team in the men's First Division after five games.

  ''I do some coaching for them during the week and I'm prepared to see what I can do to help. But I think Hong Kong hockey should have a long hard look at itself and decide what they want to do. Personally, I think they should set their sights lower,'' hesaid.



Pure gold moment drives coach