Born Gunalan Panchacharan in Selangor on April 2, 1944, he grew up with his three other siblings in Seremban.
Known as Punch for his devastating performances on the court, Gunalan’s unique background as a player-coach-administrator, mechanical engineer and his work experience in the world of public relations and marketing, provided him the know-how to solve problems with mechanical precision, aplomb and foresight.
Upon hanging up his racquet in 1974, Gunalan served BAM in various capacities – chief coach, team manager and honorary secretary before eventually rising to the position as deputy president of world body International Badminton Federation (IBF), which were later renamed BWF.
Behind the scenes, Gunalan was the engineer behind the late Tan Sri Elyas Omar – the architect of the 1992 Thomas Cup victory.
While Elyas designed the style and shape of the structure, Gunalan made sure it was sustainable and rock solid.
Gunalan made modifications to the training courts, so that the team were exposed to sharper drops and shots.
To help prepare Datuk Razif Sidek and his teammates in reading and adapting to the unpredictable flight of the shuttlecock, Gunalan inserted screws into the cork base.
When I was granted an interview at his residence in Petaling Jaya in 2010, the trademark pompadour hairstyle was still prominent, albeit on a receding hairline flecked with grey.
We exchanged banters, spoke about the good old times when everyone was open to criticism and recalled the moments when he agreed for P. Ganga Rao, the general manager then, to approach and offer me the job as a media officer at BWF.
Despite his stature in the game, Gunalan did not escape scrutiny and criticism. He was alleged to be the reason which hastened the formation of the breakaway club Nusa Mahsuri in 1996, and later was caught in the centre of the intrigue when Ganga was sacked.
For all the perceived high-handedness on his part, Gunalan was no doubt a strategic thinker.
He mooted the idea of the Thomas Cup-Uber Cup-Olympic Games (TUO), modified from a similar project by KLBA of which Elyas adapted and absorbed into BAM.
Gunalan made sure the seniors and juniors were housed together at the Cheras Youth Complex and trained full time at the Police Training Centre (Pulapol), with Morten Frost Hansen and Sze Yu brought in as sparring partners.
In came coaches from China, Fang Kaixiang, followed by Chen Changjie in 1988, Han Jian in 1990 and Yang Yang in 1991 while Mark Andersen was appointed as psychologist and Walt Williamson was roped in as fitness trainer.
From the TUO group that also featured Wong Tat Meng, Lee Zii Jia’s present coach and Kwan Yoke Meng, only Chong Weng Kai was drafted into the senior squad ahead of the Thomas Cup 1986.
At world level, Gunalan mooted the idea of shortened scoring format in BWF’s bid to cater to the needs of the sponsors, media and spectators.
But like both the late Datuk Seri Paul Mony Samuel and Datuk Peter Velappan, Gunalan was seen as the all-too powerful power broker within the organisation. He could make or break a leader, or play the role of kingmaker.
All three shared one thing in common – they had technical background and rose to the top of the game as administrators. Above all, they were great communicators.
Mony was coach of the Kedah State football team in the 1970s before joining FA of Malaysia (FAM), whereas Velappan was an accredited national football coach and later assistant secretary of FAM before stamping his mark as the general secretary of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC).
Sports officials of their ilk are no longer in the system. Sadly, they don’t make them like they used to, much to the detriment of our sports scene.
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