A HOST of friends, relatives and sports enthusiasts turned up to pay their last respects to former Olympian Datuk Thambu Krishnan at his residence in Lorong Indah, Taman Bukit Indah in Bukit Mertajam. The sombre gathering took place before the funeral procession departed for the Berapit Chinese Cemetery for cremation yesterday afternoon.
Thambu, aged 81, succumbed to a brief illness at the Penang Hospital on Dec 20 (Wednesday).
Among the attendees were Penang State Sports Council (PSSC) director Harry Chai Heng Hua, former national athlete V. Angamah and her husband, Dr N. Arujunan, former national runner Preemadesa Peyadesa (son of former Olympian Datuk PLBS Peyadesa), PSSC development sports officers Chew Kok Rui and Ravichandran Ramasamy, and Master of Ceremony and artistic swimmer Carolyn Ooi.
Thambu, who retired as a headmaster of SJK Tamil in Perai, Penang, represented Malaysia in the 4x100m relay at the 1968 Mexico Olympics and in the 400m and 4x400m relay at the 1972 Munich Olympics.
One of his most outstanding achievements was winning the 4x100m relay gold medal in the 1966 Bangkok Asian Games, together with Tan Sri Dr M. Jegathesan, G. Rajalingam and Mohd Ariffin Ahmad.
Even after hanging up his spikes, Thambu remained actively involved in athletics, especially collaborating with the Penang State Sports Council to train athletes for Sukma and other competitions.
Chai said he came to bid a final farewell to Thambu, acknowledging that his presence will be deeply missed, particularly for his invaluable coaching knowledge and sprinting expertise.
“He was a gem in our Penang athletics scene, one of the coaches with whom we have constantly stayed in touch to look at how we could restore Penang ‘olahraga’ (athletics) to the great days previously,” Chai told Buletin Mutiara.
Melaka-born Angamah, who formed a powerful quartet with Saik Oik Cum, Zaiton Othman, and Harbans Kaur in the 80s, said she heard much about athletes like Thambu Krishnan and Jegathesan as legends, but only truly came to know Thambu better after her competitive days.
“In 2011, I got the chance to learn more about him during a pilgrimage to India for the Malaysian Indian ex-national athletes.
“I just admired these legends from a distance, and I never thought he would be such a humble, jovial and caring person.
“I also realised that my husband (Dr N. Arujunan) was an ardent fan of Thambu. He took up athletics because of him. If he had not focused on his studies, he could have achieved a higher. My husband’s elder brother and Thambu were college mates.
“Off and on when we came to Penang, we would stay in touch. I had visitied Thambu’s house once before and the family was very hospitable. We will surely miss him,” said Angamah, who came with Arujunan from Kajang.
Thambu’s duels with Jega over the sprints were often the highlights of many championships, but Jega often proved to be the faster finisher.
“We were on the same team in the 60s, and we had many close races. I usually had a little bit of edge. We were great rivals as well as great teammates. He took our rivalry very sportingly and genuinely congratulated me,” Dr Jegathesan said in a phone interview from Melbourne where he is visiting his children and grandchildren.
“But, most importantly, we were great friends. We just did our best and we were so proud to wear the Malaysian colours.
“In the last 10 years, from 2013 until now, I had the opportunity to come to Penang once or twice as the pro-Chancellor of Universiti Sains Malaysia. During these visitis, I would meet up with him for tea or a meal. Our last meeting was early this year.”
Lee Swee Seng, who retired as the director of the Westlands Centre for Sports Excellence (PKWS), had the honour of coaching the Penang athletes alongside Thambu in the 80s and early 90s. It was during this period, Penang schools’ athletes and coaches put in a lot of effort to win the Malaysian schools athletics championships (MSSM) for eight years in a row.
“We both focused on coaching the sprinters. Thambu was highly knowledgeable and a very nice man to work with. Together, we groomed several athletes, including Beh Ching Keat, Chew Gim Peng and Ooi Juat Khoon.
“Thambu was not only a good athletics coach but also excelled as a golfer.”
Penang Amateur Athletics Association secretary V. Govindasamy said Thambu was widely recognised for his ability to inspire young athletes.
“He was always willing to share his knowledge with young coaches. Huge loss to the athletic fraternity, especially in Penang, and will undoubtedly have a profound impact on every athlete fortunate enough to have worked with him. Deepest condolences to the family,” Govind said.
Tambu leaves behind wife Datin V. Saroja, daughter Geetha Krisnasamy, son Ganesh Krishnasamy, and daughter-in-law Khalveena Sivabalakrishnan.
Story by K.H. Ong
Pix by K.H. Ong and courtesy of interviewees