KUALA LUMPUR: If we walk down the memory lane, we will see many Malaysian walk champions winning gold at international events like the Sea Games.
But in recent years, Malaysian race walkers have been reduced to also-rans ignominiously in international competitions.
Malaysia failed to win any walk medal in the past two Sea Games - in Hanoi, 2021, and in Phnom Penh, last year.
What can Malaysia do to reverse the situation?
Three-time Olympian Tan Sri Dr M. Jegathesan said it's basically about increasing the number of participants in the sport.
"What you need first of all is large grassroot development, and it's from them the champions will come. So most of the enthusiasm and support initially must go to creating activities that will create a very large grassroot mass."
That is where events like the inaugural Jom Jalan with NPC (National Press Club), which was held today, came in.
"In other words if you are serious about walking, you need to go to the beginning and you know where the beginning is at the schools," said Jegathesan after flagging off the Jom Jalan with NPC at Padang Merbok.
"Must encourage school children to participate in walk events. You must talk to school organising committees to have a time table for people to go schools and teach students the walking techniques.
"From the grassroots you must have a series of the age-group-related competitions, and that will allow the talented walkers to emerge.
"And the Jom Jalan with NPC definitely helps to attract the attention of youngsters.
"When you have more walk events like Jom Jalan, the number of participants will keep increasing as friends will bring friends and family will bring children.
"For instance, if you ask a 10-year-old boy are you going to be an Olympic champion, how will he ever know whether he has the talent to be a sports person? If a youngster participates in an event there are people who can spot his talent as they are trained to look for talent," said legendary sprinter Jegathesan who won the 100m, 200m and 4x100m gold in the 1966 Asian Games.
"But the thing is we're not exposing ourselves to sports. How will a person become a champion walker if he never walks in competitions although he might have the right muscles and right techniques to be a good walker rather than taking up guitar to become a lousy musician.
"Overall we need to create a huge grassroots and attract more people to start talking about sports as a hobby, or as an interest or as an exercise.
"One thing is we must accept that all human beings are not equal at all as each of us is very different. And we must realise that we have different qualities and skills. What's important is that we identify your skills so that you can spend time developing them, which is called talent development so that you achieve the results.
"If you don't have the talent and you can spend all the time training in particular sports that you're not going to be the best.
"Why the Kenyans can run forever is because they have slow-twitch fibers and they don't get tired while the Jamaican have fast-twitch muscle fibers, that's why they win all the 100m," said Jegathesan.
Meanwhile former Olympian sprinter Datuk Sharuddin Ali, former national 400m hurdler Noraseela Khalid and former national walker Shahrulhaizy Abdul Rahman were among 300 people who took part in the Jom Jalan with NPC.
Results
Men's 10km: 1. Fakhrulrazi Jailani 50:44 (50 minutes 44 seconds), 2. Jack Kennedy 50:45, 3. C. Teban Raj 54:21
Women's 10km: 1. Kok Hui Ying 58:05, 2. P. Kirttysha 1'01:50 (one hour one point 50 seconds), 3. Norliana Rusni 1'06.51.