KUALA LUMPUR: Athletics legends Dr Mani Jegathesan and M Rajamani revelled in the unexpected joy of being feted for their greatness at a joint 80th birthday celebration on Monday.
Jegathesan or Jega, once the fastest man in Asia, turned 80 on Nov 2, and former queen of speed Rajamani will reach the landmark on Nov 11.
Several marquee names in sport, who captivated the nation in the 1960s and 70s, made the “80-80” merriment a stirring moment, including former Olympic Council of Malaysia president Tunku Imran Tuanku Ja’afar, and Karu Selvaratnam, a double international in athletics and cricket.
Also present were Jega’s running mate, Olympian Shahrudin Ali, former internationals M Karathu (football), Stephen Van Huizen (hockey) and James Selvaraj (badminton), and sportswriters from the 70s George Das and Terence Netto.
Recalling his triumphs, Jega said he did not do it all alone. “I was extremely lucky that my family came from a sports background.
“Everything we do is the sum total of everything we experience and learn from the people we met.
“I can think of no less than 30 people who contributed to my success,” he said after cutting the birthday cake, shaped like a running track, with his wife, Tan Lee Hong.
Jega emphasised the importance of identifying talent at an early age, adding that it helped him develop to his fullest potential.
“Never at any stage did my family say, ‘Look, don’t waste your time. This is rubbish.’ I had a great start because my family supported me.”
He said he owed his successes to his teachers, coaches and then prime minister Tunku Abdul Rahman.
He recounted several anecdotes, including the time he was walking along a road in Kuala Lumpur, before the Mexico Olympics, when Tunku’s motorcade drove by.
“Suddenly, they screeched to a halt. The door opened, and Tunku came out and said, ‘Jega, you’re Jega right? Do you want a lift? Where can I take you?”
“I said, ‘Sir, thank you, I’m just crossing the road’.”
The Flying Doctor, as he was known, competed in three Olympics – Rome (1960), Tokyo (1964) and Mexico (1968), where he became the first Malaysian athlete to qualify for the semifinals in the 200m sprint.
At the Bangkok Asian Games in 1966, he was crowned Asia’s fastest man, clocking 10.5s to win the 100m in a photo finish. He also won the 200m (21.5s) and brought the Malaysian 4x100m quartet home in 40.6s with a blazing anchor leg.
Jega also excelled in the field of medicine and served in the health ministry for 30 years before reitiring as deputy health director-general.
Mummy long legs
Rajamani, dubbed “mummy long legs”, said she will always cherish the gathering that “brought some of us together after a long time”.
She credited her first coach, the late R Suppiah, with honing her into a champion sprinter after she completed Form 5.
Explaining how she had annoyed her father by lazing around at home, Rajamani said: “He went to the field, spoke to Suppiah, brought him to the house and told him: ‘I don’t want to see my daughter in the house between 4pm and 7pm. Do what you want with her but I don’t want her in the house’.”
Rajamani began training under Suppiah in January 1964. Barely six months later, she had qualified for the Tokyo Olympics.
She went on to become a seven-time Southeast Asian Peninsular (SEAP) Games gold medallist, and the first female athlete from Malaysia to bag gold at the Asian Games, in Bangkok 1966, winning the 400m in 56.3s.
Her career, however, would be cruelly cut short. On March 23, 1968, during a training session in preparation for the Mexico Olympics, she and several other Malaysian athletes were struck by lightning, rendering her unconscious and fighting for her life for 18 hours.
Karu, chairman of Young Talent Track & Field, the event’s organiser, said knowing both Jega and Rajamani was a “privilege”.
“We are proud to honour them for the glory they brought, the contributions they made, and the achievements they attained during the period of amateurism through sheer desire and passion,” he said.
Youth and sports minister Hannah Yeoh, who attended the celebration, expressed her appreciation to the two-track phenoms for their sacrifices and dedication to sport. - FMT
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