Reviving hope for sporting glory

The Malaysian track and field squad at the 1972 Olympics. The squad comprised (front, from left) Hassan Osman, Peyadesa, Zainuddin Wahab, S. Sivaraman and (standing from left) Thambu Krishnan, coach Leslie Armstrong, Junaidah Aman. (Standing from right) Ishtiaq Mubarak, S. Sabapathy and Gladys Chai. – Photo courtesy of Peyadesa

IT’S early morning at Penang’s Polo Ground, a large open space with four football fields. In one shady corner, a bunch of kids – all in orange T-shirts – are fooling around. An elderly man rides up in an equally vintage kapchai; the kids snap to attention.

The boss is here. The man on the bike is Datuk PLBS Peyadesa: Olympian, ex-national middle-distance running legend and now, the kids’ coach.