Suaran Singh practicing discus throw – Photo courtesy of family
By Gurbachan Singh | Malaysia |
“Whatever I do, I like to do well” – Suaran Singh (1928 to 2017) at the SEAP Games in Rangoon 1961
Sardar Suaran Singh, fondly known as Uncle Suaran, was not only a champion athlete who won medals for Malaysia at the Southeast Asian Peninsular (SEAP) Games. He was also a coach to several SEA Games medalists, organizer of major national sport meets, a Commonwealth Games official, secretary of the Penang Cycling Association in the 1960s, founder president of the Penang Veteran Athlete Association, recipient of the 1986 Sport Personality award by the Penang state, and an active community member.
Suaran was born 17th November 1928 in the village Balia Manjpur near Amritsar in Punjab, India. His parents, father Veer Singh and mother Harnam Kaur, were farmers who moved to Penang, Malaya when Suaran was 5 years of age. Suaran married Madam Jeet Kaur in 1949. They both had 5 children and lived and worked in Penang throughout their lives.
During the Second World War (WW2) when the Japanese invaded Malaya, at the insistence of his father, Suaran joined some wrestlers and a former soldier on their morning routine exercises at the then abandoned fire station at the Chulia Street / Beach Street junction. The fire station still exists today and is fully functional. Incidentally, Jeet Kaur, the woman he would marry later in life, was then a young girl living with her family right across the road to the fire station in the Chinese Yeoh Kongsi building.
Suaran excelled in sport during his school days, taking part in hockey, cricket, and athletics for his school, St Xavier’s Institution, Penang. At a school 4×400 baton relay event, as the final runner, and even though he received the baton last with a significant distance to make up, he put in such a determined effort, that he beat several runners to eventually win a medal. This was a watershed moment for Suaran. Seeing a future in athletics, he started training seriously and the rest is history.
His favorite event was the hammer throw though he also excelled in discus and shot put. He was a self-made athlete. There were no coaches in the 1950s. So he taught himself throwing techniques from books he procured from bookshops on Chulia Street. He also received some tips from some British soldiers stationed in Penang who would train at the field that is now the University Science (USM) field. On one occasion, he received some advice from Jessie Owens. The famous US athlete had come to Penang in 1955 to run a few coaching clinics as a sports ambassador for the US government.
In 1954, when Suaran was working as secretary in the customs department, he organized a meetup with other sportsmen. To his surprise, he came up 1st in hammer, discus and shot put. Later, he moved to the Public Works Department (PWD) and became involved in sports events throughout Penang. He was appointed secretary of the Amateur Athlete Association (AAA) and took part in the AAA meet. Here, again he beat the entire field in hammer, discus and shot put.
He held the Malaysian record in discus in 1958 and 1959 and hammer from 1960 to 1963.
Suaran was selected to participate in the 1st SEAP Games in 1959. As fate would have it, he had to turn down the offer as he was responsible for making arrangements for his sister’s marriage during the period. He was selected for the 2nd SEAP games in 1961 in Rangoon for hammer and discus throw. He was favorite for the hammer throw. Unfortunately, the hammer throw event was scrapped and as a result he lost the opportunity for gold. He got bronze for discus. By the time of his 3rd SEAP games in 1965, in Kuala Lumpur, Suaran’s back was beginning to trouble him. Still, he managed 3rd place in the hammer throw.
After 1965, Suaran retired from international sports and turned his attention to organizing, officiating, coaching, and community work.
He was secretary of the Penang Cycling Association together with Ronald Hillman, a member of the Australian Defence Forces stationed in Butterworth. They travelled all over Malaysia organizing and officiating cycling meets in the late 60s.
He organized all the Annual National Government Services Meets for 10 consecutive years and was chairman of the Government Services Sports from 1980 to 1985.
He founded the Penang Veteran’s Athletics Association in 1987 and was president of the association from 1987 to 1992 and in that time organized 4 Veteran’s sport meets.
SEAP 1961: Suaran Singh and Ng Chow Seng – Photo: Courtesy of family
Suaran Singh and wife Jeet Kaur – Photo: Courtesy of family
Suaran Singh receiving an award from Penang govenor’s wife in 1957 – Photo: Courtesy of family
He did two coaching courses, one in 1985 at Loughborough University, UK, and another in 1987 at National Institute of Sports, Patiala, India. He was an Malaysian Amateur Athletic Union (MAAU) senior coach for several years and a throws coach to the Malaysian SEA games teams in 1985 and 1987. Being an MAAU qualified official Grade 1, he officiated at the MAAU meets from 1966 to 2000. He also officiated at the Commonwealth Games in Kuala Lumpur in 1998.
In 1989, he was manager to the Malaysian team that participated in the Taiwan Marathon.
Again in 1989, he organized the first Penang to Phuket run under the auspices of the Penang Veteran’s Athletic Association. This was the longest run at the time and it was flagged off by none other than the first PM of Malaysia, Tunku Abdul Rahman.
Suaran is remembered by the Penang Sikh community for his contributions to sports and community work. He was trustee of the Wadda Gurdwara Sahib Penang (WGSP). He organized four Sikh sport meets. He set up, stocked and ran the first library for the gurdwara, was an active member of the Penang Sikh Association, and author of a commemorative book on the Wadda Gurdwara Penang on its 100th anniversary.
Suaran holds the honor of having the oldest standing Penang athletic meet record set by any Malaysian. This Penang State hammer record was set in the 1960s and is yet to be broken by a Malaysian.
As a person, Suaran was an eternal optimist, deeply spiritual, unafraid of questioning irrational practices or behaviour, and always held to the ethos of equality, honesty, and hard work as espoused by Guru Nanak.
He was intelligent, well read, and with an excellent command of English, Punjabi, Hindi and Malay. He could even understand Tamil quite well.
A keen photographer, he was often seen with a camera in hand. As such he has left behind a large collection of photographs and home movies for posterity. In fact, he used a movie camera to analyse his throwing technique as far back as 1957.
Suaran passed away on 1st March 2017 after an illustrious life that spanned 89 years. Gone but not forgotten.
(The author is Suaran Singh’s youngest son. He is a management consultant residing in Australia. Suaran’s eldest son Jasbir Singh emerged runners-up in a 1986 national championship for shot put and still holds the javelin record for the Malaysia Airlines championship. He is a keen golfer. Their sibling Terlochan Singh was active in hockey and golf. He runs a private medical practice in Penang.)
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