While waiting for our first Olympic gold medal, let’s take a look at the country’s four oldest living Olympians.
The quartet are Wilfred ‘Freddy’ Vias, Tan Sri P. Alagendra, M. Harichandra and Professor Ronnie Theseira.
Vias, Alagendra and Harichandra were part of Malaya’s first contingent that competed in the 1956 Melbourne Games, while Theseira represented Malaysia at the 1964 Games in Tokyo.
Here’s a fun fact: The 1964 Games was the only time Malaysia and Singapore athletes competed under the Malaysian flag.
Vias, who turns 93 on Oct 11, was the national hockey team’s vice-captain in Melbourne and is the oldest of the living legends.
After ending his playing career, Vias kept in touch with the two sports he loved the most – hockey and cricket – and became an umpire for both.
He also shone outside of the playing field and was a well-known administrator, the highlight of which was being the second director-general of the National Sports Council (April 1, 1981-Dec 31, 1981).
His teammate in Melbourne was Alagendra, Selangor’s former top cop, who survived four assassination attempts during the Emergency and Communist insurgency.
Like Vias, Alagendra would become a coach and manager before finding his forte as an administrator.
He was a long-time deputy president of the Malaysian Hockey Federation, secretary-general of the Asian Hockey Federation and was acting president for three months following the death of Sultan Azlan Shah in May 2014.
The third member of the 1956 team, Harichandra, ran in the 800m race in Melbourne. He turned 91 on July 21.
Harichandra moved to Singapore to work in the Prisons Department and never left the island. He became a citizen in 1958.
He was still active in his later years and founded the Singapore Association of Veteran Athletes (now known as Singapore Masters Athletics Association). He also co-founded the Asia Masters Athletics, formerly known as the Asian Veteran Athletes Association.
He was presented with his Olympic pin and certificate by then Malaysian Olympians Association (MOA) vice-president Noraseela Khalid in 2019. Noraseela became MOA president in 2020.
Last but certainly not least, is fencer Theseira, who competed in the individual foil, epee and sabre events in Tokyo.
Theseira was 34 when he competed in his first and only Olympics and still loves the sport he only picked up late in his life.
Like many from that era, Theseira was adept at several sports – football, hockey, boxing and bodybuilding.
As he was approaching his 30s, he knew he needed to find a sport that offered longevity. That was how he picked up fencing.
He founded the Malaysian Amateur Fencing Association in 1959 (later renamed the Malaysian Fencing Federation) and within five years, made it to the Olympics.
Three years ago, he offered his services to the national team, free of charge. But nothing came out of it.
Although none of the four won medals at the Olympics, their grit and determination to represent Malaysia make them champions in our eyes.
