So low a profile did the quiet man of that glorious campaign of 1975 keep that few fully appreciated the thinking right-half.
Rama Krishnan was a gentleman off-field, and a tormentor on the pitch.
His tactical intellect, shrewd positioning, precision passing and exemplary discipline were among his trademarks, said his coach R Yogeswaran
“So was his sense of impending danger,” Yogeswaran said. “Rama closed off opposition attacks before they could develop.”
He said the heart-stopping semifinal between Malaysia and India at Merdeka Stadium was a game of fine margins and strategic gambles.
“Outstanding players did special things,” he added.
Rama Krishnan’s man-to-man marking that smothered India’s dynamic playmaker, Ajit Pal Singh stood out.
“It was a case of total stalking,” said Yogeswaran. “Rama exposed vulnerabilities in a strategy once thought impenetrable.”
This is no standard match report. No routine summary of facts.
This is a memento of Rama Krishnan’s destructive pursuit of the legendary Ajit Pal.
It is a marking of how Ajit Pal had been “found out”, and his effectiveness compromised by 70 minutes of world-class shadowing.
The year: 1975. The date: Thursday, March 13. Rama Krishnan didn’t let Ajit Pal play.
“I was given the task to man-mark Ajit Pal and he was not supposed to see the ball at all,” said Rama Krishnan, 72.
At 21, he was the youngest in the 16-man squad.
Breaking down the “deadly triangle”
For those not up on the tactical intricacies, man-marking is a separate discipline from plain old marking.
Man-marking is closer to a claustrophobic one-on-one, the equivalent of man-to-man defence in basketball, where each defender guards a specific player instead of guarding an area.
Yogeswaran said India’s attacking prowess rested on the seamless interplay among centre-half Ajit Pal, right-inside Ashok Kumar and left-inside BP Govinda.
This was a triangle that had proved devastatingly effective in splitting the defence to find VJ Philips upfront, or for Ashok and Govinda themselves to score goals.
Observing India’s relentless passing in previous matches, Yogeswaran likened their style to “rats running in one direction”.
Rama Krishnan was entrusted with the mission to break this pattern.
Before the semi-final, Yogeswaran, who was one of three assistants to head coach Ho Koh Chye, analysed India’s gameplay.
He noted that in earlier encounters, Ajit Pal had unleashed up to 145 passes in a single match, spraying the ball effortlessly to his teammates, including to the flanks.
Drawing an unusual parallel to the predictable movement of rats, the coaches picked Rama Krishnan as the ideal player to disrupt this system, placing confidence in his discipline and thoughtful play.
Yogeswaran said Rama Krishnan’s sharp reading of play, and the crucial interventions it produced, forced the opposition to abandon their fluid strategy.
“Rama’s ability to disrupt a well-established strategy showed that the mind is as powerful as the physical game,” he offered.
Stalking other greats – and a great miss
Rama Krishnan had already man-marked two great ball distributors, Pakistan’s Akhtar Rasool and Ties Kruize of the Netherlands, before taking on Ajit Pal.
“I had two intense matches in the man-marking role before the semi-final, so I wasn’t intimidated playing against Ajit Pal,” he recalled.
Rama Krishnan had some knowledge of the style of play of Ajit Pal and Akhtar before the World Cup in Kuala Lumpur.
After the 1974 Asian Games in Teheran, where Malaysia won the bronze medal, he and forward Poon Fook Loke were selected for the Asian All-Stars team.
He said the side comprised mainly India and Pakistan players and that he was fortunate to play alongside Ajit Pal and Akhtar.
In the World Cup, Malaysia were in the same group as Pakistan (winners of the first World Cup), the Netherlands (reigning champions), Spain (runners-up in the inaugural tournament), New Zealand and Poland.
Rama Krishnan, who played every match, said every encounter was tight and that they were unlucky to lose to India and Pakistan.
Against Pakistan, another midfielder, K Balasingam, also stopped the speedy Samiullah Khan from playing.
But the host nation eventually lost 2-1, but went on to beat the Netherlands by the same score.
In the semifinal, India scored from a penalty corner in the closing minutes to equalise when injury-hit Malaysia led 2-1.
According to Yogeswaran, a moment of indecisiveness allowed India to score the winning goal in extra time.
The opening scoreless match against New Zealand almost took the zing out of Rama Krishnan.
He recalled that after missing the penalty stroke, he lost his composure and that his “big brothers”, A Francis, M Mahendran, Franco D’Cruz and roommate S Balasingam, pulled him out of his gloom.
Teluk Intan’s wonderkid
The son of driver Rengasamy picked up hockey as a lower secondary student of St Anthony’s school in Teluk Intan, Perak.
Soon, he was training with his hometown idol, fullback A Francis, who was then training for the 1968 Mexico Olympics.
In 1970, he made his debut for Perak. “Many senior players withdrew from the state side over some problems, and a combined schools team was fielded for the Razak Cup.”
Two years later, the then research assistant with the rubber research institute, was at the Munich Olympics where Malaysia finished eighth overall.
In 1973, he played and helped coach the Perak team that won the Razak Cup, beating Armed Forces that featured robust players like fullback Randhir Singh and goalkeeper James D’Cruz.
At the second World Cup in Amsterdam, Rama Krishnan and two other Perak players wore national colours.
He was at the Olympics again in Montreal in 1976, and two years later captained Malaysia in the World Cup in Buenos Aires and in the Bangkok Asian Games.
Rama Krishnan said he decided to retire when he was not selected for the Bombay World Cup in 1982.
He then played for Kuala Lumpur City Hall where he was a health inspector, and also helped coach the Federal Territory Razak Cup age group teams.
In 1992, he read law in the UK and upon his return joined a group of companies as legal adviser-company secretary. He retired 10 years ago.
Ramakrishan now spends his time with his circle of hockey friends and by indulging in fitness workouts.
His wife Kuala Kumari has passed way and son Shri Ganesh, an actuary, and doctor daughter, Ganeshree Devi, live in England.
Asked whether his hockey career had been crazy and exciting, Rama Krishnan, said: “Dramatic – and blessed with wonderful teammates.”
If you can’t love something like Rama Krishnan’s exploits in hockey, maybe sport at its most unpredictable, emotionally charged essence, is not for you. - FMT
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