By Adrian David | NEW STRAITS TIMES | MALAYSIA |
HIS services as an air defence radar man during the height of the communist insurgency may have gone unnoticed, but his battles in the sports arena earned Major (Rtd) Hardeep Singh top marks as the armed forces’ outstanding sports personality.
Hardeep was given due recognition at the Armed Forces Sports Council 2018 Awards Night at the Defence Ministry’s officers mess recently.
Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF) chief General Tan Sri Affendi Buang did the honours for Hardeep, 55, who retired on March 16 after 33 years.
Hardeep has been a significant figure in developing cricket in the armed forces and Malaysia cricket since 2004, earning the country a 27th ranking in the world at present.
Malaysia is also ranked 35th in the world for the T20 (or Twenty20) play format.
Cricket aside, Hardeep was a credible runner for the RMAF and armed forces’ 1,500m and 5,000m (1986-1995) and 21km half-marathon (1986-2003).
He also played rugby for the RMAF Black Hawks team (1988-1990), Penang (1993-1995), Sabah (1995-1999) and Pahang (1999-2001).
“As a soldier, more so as an officer, fitness is a priority.
“And sports keeps both mind and body in top shape, which also helps me to maintain my performance at work,” said Hardeep, who is now a consultant with Sat Kartar Agency.
Married to Jagdeep Kaur, the father of three plunged into the cricketing world during the 1998 Kuala Lumpur Commonwealth Games.
“I was then a sergeant and was chosen as a liaison officer for the Pakistan cricket team, led by the legendary Imran Khan (who is now Pakistan’s prime minister).
“Soon, I took up cricket seriously as a player and also became the RMAF Cricket Association secretary in 2004 until last year,” said Hardeep, who rose through the ranks from 1986 to become Warrant Officer 1.
Read the full story, ‘Ex-RMAF man scores big in sports′ at New Straits Times (16 Sept 2019), here.
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