Hockey’s top ‘whistle-blower’
KUALA TERENGGANU: As a worldclass hockey umpire, Datuk Vijayananthan Gulasingam had blown the whistle tens of thousands of times in matches over three decades.
It made him the world’s No. 1 umpire during the 1972-1976 period, making him the top “whistle-blower” for hockey.
As he celebrated his 86th birthday on Tuesday, Viji, as he is popularly known, spoke on why one particular whistle has been close to his heart for 42 years.
It is a metal “Balilla” brand whistle that was a gift from his co-umpire, Alain Renaud of France, for the duo to umpire the final match between India and Pakistan during the Kuala Lumpur World Cup in 1975 at Stadium Merdeka.
“This whistle, which has a very peculiar and powerful ‘pheet’ sound, has special significance to me. I have not only used it when umpiring subsequent matches, but safely kept it at my home all these years.
“I treasure it very dearly, for the 1975 final has been much talked about till today.
“It was the whistle that I blew to give India the (so-called controversial) winning goal, which the Pakistani players had disputed for a very long time,” said Viji.
India edged Pakistan 2-1 to win their first hockey World Cup.
Viji said he still kept in touch with the much younger Renaud, who still umpires major international tournaments, via e-mail.
“We exchange developments in the sport and other matters. And, I often remind him of this special whistle that he presented me four decades ago.”
He reminisced about how the Sportswriters Association of Malaysia had presented him a “Golden Whistle” much like the replica of the “Balilla” whistle on a stand during its annual awards ceremony in 1987.
Another interesting fact about Viji is that his home’s front gate in Taman Kanagapuram, Petaling Jaya, has the five coloured rings of the Olympic Games.
“It was a gift from my late wife, Rajaletchmy Rasiah, 37 years ago, to soothe my feelings after being disappointed at not being able to officiate at the 1980 Moscow Olympics in Russia (due to a United States-led boycott following Russia’s invasion of Afghanistan).
“She knew how bad I felt and wanted to cheer me up. She painstakingly engaged a contractor to put up the Olympic rings.”
A trained teacher, Viji, a survivor of the Japanese Occupation during World War 2, became a government administrator with the Education Department until his optional retirement in 1983.
He then accepted a job as sports manager with the Royal Selangor Golf Club for 15 years.
Viji even worked for a short period as a sports stringer with The Malay Mail in 1964.
He also played hockey for the Tamilian Physical and Cultural Association for 30 years.
Viji became an internationalclass umpire in 1969 and retired in 1982 after the Bombay World Cup in India, after surpassing the maximum permitted age of 50.
He has been involved in nine Olympic Games as an umpire and official, and officiated at numerous World Cups, Asian Games, Seap (later Sea) Games and other international tournaments.
Not many know that Viji, who was Malaysian Hockey Federation (MHF) secretary for 26 years from 1959, used his own expenses to get the job done — running hockey matters, in the initial years, from the booth of his car with a stool and a portable typewriter.
Viji penned a book, The Memoirs of Mr Hockey, which received the attention of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak.
In the book’s message, Najib noted how Viji had served with pride and dignity for 17 of the 26 years as MHF secretary under the presidency of his late father, former prime minister Tun Abdul Razak Hussein.
“Every page in the book is studded with experience that shaped his life. But, the profound manner in which he touched on every aspect of his life is the true measure of his magnificent contribution not only in Malaysia, but also in the international scene.
“His memoirs provide a historical record of hockey’s development in the country, which also is the history of our nation,” Najib wrote. By Adrian David