COMMENTARY
31st January, 2014
Level Field
By TONY MARIADASS
Update: Wong Choon Wah passed away this morning. He was 68 years-old. May his soul rest in peace.
THE general consensus among ex-international
sportsmen and women is that they are a neglected lot.
They complain that they are neither recognised
for their past feats and sacrifices nor their services to their respective
sports.
While a handful of ex-international
sportsmen and women are involved in various sports associations, it is a fact
that a large number of them have been left out.
This issue has been raised many a time but
the sports associations have not been very receptive and are still helmed by
royalty, politicians, wealthy individuals and, in some cases, individuals who
do not have any sports background.
While some of the ex-athletes say that
sports associations should be run by sports people, many are not interested in
helming them. They just want to give back something to the sports fraternity, like
coaching and administration.
The voice of these ex-athletes was loud and
clear at the Sports Flame dinner
organised by four veteran sports journalists of the 1970s and early 1980s
(George Das, R. Velu, Fauzi Omar and Lazarus Rokk) at a leading hotel last Saturday.
 |
| HONOURED: M. Kuppan, N. Thanabalan, Wong Choon Wah and Peter Velappan (partly hidden) with their plaque presented by Fauzi (in suit) |
The four, who are passionate about Malaysian
sports and who enjoyed the glorious and golden sports moments of the 1970s and
early 1980s, wanted to show their appreciation for the athletes of that era,
many of whom have been forgotten.
It was the second year the event was organised
where several athletes were honoured with a simple plaque, but it is the
thought that counts.
Also present at the event were other sports
journalists, sports editors, photographers, sportsmen and women of the era,
including the 1975 World Cup hockey team, and veteran sports officials.
It was indeed a nostalgic night and as the
former athletes and veteran sports officials spoke of their era and the present
day, many pertinent points surfaced, many of which we have heard over and over
again.
A key point they raised was the school
system where sports is not emphasised as it used to be. They talked of the lack
of dedicated sports teachers, the disappearing playing fields, the lack of
emphasis on physical education on the school timetable and students who have so
many other things to do than sweating it out under the sun.
Others said it is because parents prioritise
studies – where students have to attend tuition class after tuition class, leaving
them with no time to go to the fields in the evenings – that the standard of
sports has dropped drastically in the country.
They pointed out that children these days also
prefer playing indoor games than being out there in the fields rain or shine.
No wonder no talent is emerging from the schools.
Some reminisced about the days when sports in
schools started with inter-class games, followed by inter-house before moving on
to inter-school, inter-district and then national and international.
These days, almost all sports are held on a
carnival basis and only a selected few are involved. Those days, there were
even inter-house swimming meets organised by the schools when there were few
swimming pools. But today, with so many swimming pools, schools hardly organise
meets.
Athletic meets were held almost every week
and schools invited other schools to compete in inter-school relays, which was
the highlight of each school’s meets. Today, with the fields disappearing and exorbitant
stadium costs, these meets have been reduced to carnivals with minimum events.
“Sports in schools those days and even the
national teams was a 1Malaysia affair. It was the mixed balance that gave
overall strength. Just look at the 1972 Munich Olympics football team, which
had players from all races,” said Peter Velappan, the former secretary-general
of the Asian Football Confederation and team manager of the Malaysian football
team to the 1972 Munich Olympics.
Then, many of the ex-athletes spoke about not
being given an opportunity to lend their expertise to schools or sports
associations in their development programmes.
“We are not asking to be paid high salaries.
All we are asking is an opportunity to work with the children in the schools
and impart our knowledge,” said Sri Shanmuganthan, the 1975 Malaysian World Cup
hockey team skipper.
Former Malaysian Hockey Federation secretary and international hockey
umpire, G. Vijayanathan, said that sports officials should be
former sportsmen and women.
“Sports associations should be led by former sportsmen and women so that
the passion is pure and their sole interest is sports,” he commented.
Former sprint ace, Mani Jegathesan, whose 200m record of 20.92 seconds set
in the 1968 Mexico Olympics still stands, said: “Times have changed with so
many distractions for athletes, but at the end of the day, it is what the
athletes want. They have to set the standards and be prepared to make
sacrifices to achieve their goal.”
At the end of the night, all left with a
wide smile that there are some who still recognised our forgotten athletes, but
deep inside they were sad that they could not return to the sports they are passionate
about.
Here’s hoping that better recognition is
given to our past heroes and let us use their experience in any small way we
can. It is sad that their burning passion for sports is left to simmer inside
them and not shared with the budding talent who are the future of the nation’s
sports.
Athletes and officials who were honoured at the dinner:
Athletics: Annie
Choong, M. Jegathesan, Nashatar Singh, T. Krishnan, Karu Selvaratnam, R.
Subramaniam, A. Vaithilingam
Football: Peter
Velappan, Wong Choon Wah, N. Thanabalan, M. Kuppan, M. Karathu
Hockey: R.
Yogeswaran, C. Paramalingam, G. Vijayanathan
Badminton: Yew
Cheng Hoe
Cycling: Shaharudin
Jaffar
Twitter handle: @tmariadass
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