Vias – the multitalented athlete who fell for hockey.

Versatile Vias calls on players to pursue passion with vim and vigour

FACT FILE

Name: Wilfred Vias

Born: Oct 11, 1928 (90 years old) Sport: Hockey Olympic participation: 1956 MY father was working with the Malayan Railway and it was there that I picked up my love for sports. We were living at their quarters which was located in Brickfields.

My passion for sports came from my father who played hockey, football and cricket for the Indian Association.

Those days it wasn’t unusual for someone to play in several sports.

I also picked up the interest to play in different sports with my father as coach.

I participated in tennis, badminton, golf and even baseball but I was more keen on hockey, football and cricket.

When I turned 11 years old, I was picked to play for the Indian Association. A year later I was selected for the Selangor state team in hockey, cricket and football.

I could do that because the seasons for each sport were different throughout the year.

Cricket was in February to April, hockey would be played from April to August and football for the rest of the year. It was tiring but I enjoyed it.

My breakthrough came when I made the national hockey team in 1945 at the age of 16.

I always felt that hockey was in my blood as my father excelled in it.

It wasn’t until more than a decade later when I was 27 that we finally qualified for the Melbourne 1956 Olympics and I was made captain of the Federation of Malaya team.

I was picked because I could play in various positions and the players respected me for my leadership qualities.

We were a nervous bunch even before we boarded the plane because it was our first time travelling by air, not to mention leaving the country.

Once we reached Melbourne, the jitters left us and we were filled with pride to represent our country and be one of the top nations in the world.

Once we got onto the pitch, we played the toughest matches of our lives. We were drawn in the same group with Great Britain, Australia and Kenya.

Compared to Great Britain we were all greenhorns but we man-

If you have ‘fire in your belly’ for something, do not be afraid to pursue it with passion and love as everything else will fall into place.

Wilfred Vias

aged to hold them 2-2. We also drew 1-1 with Kenya but against the home team we narrowly lost 3-2.

We finished third in our group and failed to advance into the semi-finals but we were not too disappointed as it was our first time playing in a major event.

I hope the younger athletes today will fully appreciate the pride and joy to play for the country.

And if you have a ‘fire in your belly’ for something, do not be afraid to pursue it with passion and love as everything else will fall into place.

— Story narrated to JOASH EE DE SILVA

In his blood: Wilfred Vias (centre) during a veterans hockey match in the 1980s. Active: One of the gifts Vias received during his heyday is this caricature of him.