Appreciate sports heroes of yesteryears

 

On Saturday, a motley crowd gathered at the Concorde for a walk down memory lane. Most of the young adults of today may not recognise nor remember them, but they made headlines in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s.

Also in the mix were sports administrators who were second to none - even using typewriters for letters and circulars in an era when computers were not heard about.

They were joined by a dozen or so sports journalists - present and past - some of whom had shared their ups and downs.

From motor racing to golf and from hockey to cricket, they were represented. They had at one time featured in the golden epoch of Malaysian sports.

The event called “Sports Flame” was the brainchild of R Velu and George Das, who then roped in Lazarus Rokk and Fauzi Omar.

“Our reason to have this get-together was to bring all the athletes whom we were associated with, especially in the 1970s and to thank them for the cooperation we received from them in our work,” said Das.

The first edition started in 2011 and the event last Saturday was the seventh.

Instead of reminiscing about the good old days or being bitter at being ignored, sitting at home alone, these journalists felt it was time for a gathering where they could exchange their experiences - good and bad.

Some had pitch-black hair while most had shades of grey reflecting their age. Some had to use walking sticks, a few were on wheelchairs and most were on the upper side of 70 in age.

Some of them had prefixes to their names – honoured for their excellence in their chosen fields, but the majority were just plain Encik or Puan.

I had the opportunity to meet many sportspersons whom I have interviewed or written about during my early days as a sports reporter.

They trained on their own or were trained by school teachers doubling up as, unlike these days when coaches are supported by dieticians, sports doctors, biomechanics specialists and even specialised cooks.

Then, many played or ran with improvised footwear and wore jerseys that had to be returned after use.

Their names were featured regularly in the back pages of newspapers with their successes in their respective sports.

Malaysia’s pride

They were not “jaguh kampung” (village champions) but winners of medals of various colours in the SEA Games, the Asian Games and the Commonwealth Games. A gold at the Olympics remains elusive.

There were at least three double internationals who had represented the country in two different sports - a rare achievement.

At a time when wearing the country’s colours was fame and glory, they played or ran for “king and country”.

There was then little money for them in terms of rewards. Then, their allowances were paltry - RM5 per day as training allowance and RM25 for a game and perhaps, a bonus of RM10 if they won.

Surely, they cannot compare to the current-day players, some of whom gain hundreds of thousands of ringgit annually in prize money and endorsements.

Their sacrifices have been forgotten by some of the rich national sports associations whose coffers were supplemented because of the efforts of these men and women.

If not for them, there would not be spectators which would mean no gate collections and also no sponsorship money.

The Sports Flame event may have provided a platform for recognition and appreciation for about 170, just for them in one single afternoon. However, hundreds of others have been forgotten.

What about the Olympic Council of Malaysia - the umbrella body for all sports associations in the country?

Surely, they can undertake a similar event on a larger scale than what has been done by these journalists.

But when officials get VIP treatment at international games, so, why bother about the minions? - Mkini

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R NADESWARAN is a senior journalist who regularly writes on bread-and-butter issues but occasionally delves into sports - his first love.

The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of MMKtT.