The Malaysian junior crew, participating within the ongoing MCC-Murugappa Gold Cup 2025 on the Mayor Radhakrishnan Stadium in Chennai, had some surprising residence assist forward of its Pool B encounter on Tuesday.
Ok. Balasingam, a member of Malaysia’s golden hockey technology, right here in Chennai on the organiser’s invite, was casting a eager eye on the performances of the juniors.
The Egmore Stadium is not any terra incognita for the septuagenarian, having been part of the Malaysian squad that participated within the Rene Frank Trophy right here in 1976.
“I’ve fond recollections of taking part in right here. In these days, there have been simply zinc sheets and plastic chairs. I additionally bear in mind the small tea retailers in entrance of the Egmore Railway Station. That was 50 years in the past,” Balasingam instructed Sportstar.
Ok. Balasingam (standing, fourth from left) and his brother KT Rajan (sitting, third from proper) on the Company Stadium in Egmore.
| Photograph Credit score:
SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
Ok. Balasingam (standing, fourth from left) and his brother KT Rajan (sitting, third from proper) on the Company Stadium in Egmore.
| Photograph Credit score:
SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
“Many actors got here to observe us play—Nagesh, S.S. Rajendran, and S.P. Muthuraman. That was very particular as a result of I used to be loopy about Tamil motion pictures again then,” he added.
The Indian join
The hockey subject shouldn’t be Balasingam’s solely reference to the erstwhile state of Madras. His father, who hailed from Thanjavur, travelled throughout the oceans to Penang in Malaysia on the age of 16 to hitch Subhash Chandra Bose’s Indian Nationwide Military (INA).
“My father was taken to Burma (now Myanmar) to construct the railway, however many Indians died there after contracting malaria and cholera. By some means, he managed to outlive and smuggle himself into Ipoh, Malaysia, the place I used to be born,” the previous participant explains.
“Until he handed away in 2016, he would get up and salute each time he heard ‘INA’. Bose was like God to him, and he was a warrior,” he added.
READ: MCC-Murugappa Gold Cup 2025: Railways wallops HUTN; IOC beats Malaysian Nationwide junior crew
Along with his household ranging from scratch in a overseas land, hockey was not reasonably priced for Balasingam. Even hockey sticks value 5 Malaysian Ringgits proved too costly, however assist from associates helped Bala and his youthful brother, Ok.T. Rajan, to take up the game.
Each brothers ultimately turned Malaysian internationals, spending the perfect a part of 10 years along with the nationwide crew.
Crowning glory
Balasingam was a part of the Malaysian crew that received third place on the Asian Video games in Tehran in 1974. And although he concedes that standing atop a podium at a continental occasion is a giant achievement, he names the fourth-place end on the 1975 World Cup at residence his biggest second on the turf.
“Regardless of being fourth, 1975 was my crowning glory. We had been tenth or twelfth at the moment [in the rankings], and we managed to complete fourth. That was a giant increase,” the previous full-back stated, pointing at a badge on his yellow t-shirt commemorating the fiftieth anniversary of the achievement.
“We had all our households watching it from the stadium. Greater than 65,000 folks had been cheering for us, together with the Prime Minister. Even as we speak, some folks come and say they had been on the stadium watching us play,” he stated.
After spectacular wins over Poland and the Netherlands within the group levels, Malaysia succumbed to India within the semifinal, shedding out in additional time after main at one stage within the sport.
ALSO READ: Ladies’s hockey ahead Deepika turns into first Indian to win Magic Talent award
Balasingam defined the grim nature of the dressing room after the match. His teammates had been in tears. They’d simply let a match slip out of their grasp within the dying minutes. Malaysia would have gone on to beat Pakistan within the closing, he says confidently.
The temper at residence was barely completely different. “We got here out of the stadium and headed in the direction of the bus. My father was ready on the door. ‘ Naina, who had been you supporting?’ I requested. ‘India’, he stated. In a technique, his sons had misplaced, however he was completely happy that his nation had received. Loyalty comes from the center,” the previous defender stated with a smile.
The match continues to be a subject of banter between Balasingam and his Indian contemporaries up to now. Even after hanging up his boots, he continues to be an everyday customer to India, hanging out along with his outdated buddies B. P. Govinda and V. Baskaran on the golf course in the midst of enterprise visits, reminiscing about their occasions.
“For 50 years, everybody has been speaking about us. We’re getting bored with it. I hope at some point we do higher than fourth,” Balasingam says.