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1975 World Cup hockey legend Balasingam dies

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia's 1975 World Cup hockey legend Balasingam Singaram died last night after battling with colon cancer for several years. He was 73.

Better known as S. Bala, the left-half was part of the 16-man squad that made Malaysia proud with the best ever finish of fourth place in the world ranking.

He leaves behind wife Indra and son Kumar.

His death was also announced by the Malaysian Hockey Confederation (MHC) on their Twitter account.

Balasingam's close friend Royal Selangor Club teammate James Sia said the former died at his Taman Overseas Union Garden home at about 8pm.

Born on Nov 15, 1947 in Ipoh, Balasingam made his international debut at 21 at the 1968 International Hockey Tournament in Lahore, Pakistan.

He went on to play at the 1972 Munich and 1978 Montreal Olympics as well as the 1973 World Cup in Amsterdam.

Balasingam was inducted into the Olympic Council of Malaysia Hall of Fame in 2004, along with his 1975 World Cup teammates.

"Bala grew up mainly in the Klang valley under the watchful eyes of the La Salle brothers at La Salle Brickfields and subsequently at St John's Institution.

"Back in his school days, he played in many positions but found his niche as a left-half, a position which gained him prominence and a place in the Malaysian national team in 1968," said Sia.

Sia added that Bala would always be remembered how he first rubbed shoulders and competed against the hockey legends of his era, where in the next eight years he continued to make his name as a regular in the national team.

"He used to laugh as he recalled how the national team of yesteryears trained at the police training centre in Jalan Semarak, putting up at the barracks and taking showers at the fire station nearby.

"Then there were mischievious teammates stealing towels and leaving them stranded until it was dark enough to run back to the barracks, and meals were mainly 'mamak' food!

"Things were much simpler then, and players did not ask for much," said Sia.

Balasingam continued to play hockey until the age of 60 in 2007, representing RSC in the KL Hockey League since 1977.

"But in reality he was also a good golfer, a game which he excelled at naturally, playing off a single handicap until the day he gave up the game in 2004 but continued to serve RSC's hockey section for many more years," said Sia.

In 1993, after contributing 22 years of service to the Rubber Research Institute (RRI) as a Technical Soil Surveyor, Bala ventured into the fertiliser business with his wife in the Brickfields office.

Former international Tan Sri Bashir Ahmad described Balasingam as "A very nice gentleman" and he played with him for many years at Selangor Club in the 80s and 90s.

Balasingam's funeral is today (Sunday) at the Puchong crematorium at 9.30am.

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