Story by K.H. Ong
IT was a big loss for Penang when their former state hockey coach Rajendran Balagurusamy, better known as Uncle Bob, passed away this morning.
Rajendran, 69, succumbed to soft tissue cancer that he was diagnosed with about 15 months ago.
The news of Rajendran’s death saddened many hearts, especially with his great contributions to the state and nation in the field of sports.
The Penang State Hockey Association (PSHA) and former hockey players held a testimonial match for him on July 14, followed by a charity dinner to help raise funds for him as he sought medical treatment.
State Youth and Sports Committee chairman Soon Lip Chee, who attended the dinner and also presented a cheque to Rajendran, said he appreciated his services especially in grooming many young hockey players, a number of whom went on to become national players.
“There is no doubt he was a dedicated sportsman and coach. It’s definitely a great loss to Penang,” said Soon.
After working a few jobs, Rajendran joined the Penang Island Municipal Council (as MBPP was then called) as a junior technician in 1970.
Rajendran was best known when he coached Electrical Switchgear Automation (ESA) to dominate the Malaysian Junior Hockey League by winning the titles in 1996 and 1997.
The team then oozed talents with players like Jiwa Mohan, K. Keevan Raj, K. Logan Raj, Rodhanizam Mat Radzi, Mohd Danair Haron, Razak Saidin and Mohd Nizam Nordin who all later went on to represent the country.
Jiwa, who was appointed to assist Rajendran in 2016 and then took over as the state coach when the latter was unable to carry on last year, said Rajendran sacrificed a lot.
“It was not only me who benefited from his guidance, but also those who did not make it to the national team. He did not just shape us as a good player but also as a good person,” said the 37-year-old Jiwa, who came under Rajendran’s wings as a 12-year-old from Stowell Primary School in Bukit Mertajam.
“At times, he used his own funds to help the team. For me, his death is a loss for hockey. But more importantly now is we need to celebrate what he had done. He will always be remembered.”
PSHA secretary V. Jayanandhan said many people know about Rajendran’s contributions to hockey but a lot do not know that he also excelled in football and rugby.
“He represented Penang in hockey, football and rugby. In the late 60s, he was in the state football team under coach (Datuk) M. Kuppan,” said Jayanandhan.
“Bob could be vocal but helpful. For the past 20 years, we had shared a lot of things and I had learned from him. Most of the time, he talked nothing but hockey.
“When many of his former players got wind that he was ill, hundreds came to visit him in the last two to three months. When he was coaching them, he worried about their studies. Their problem was his problem.”
Rajendran, assisted by Jiwa, led Penang to their first ever hockey gold medal in the 2016 Sukma in Sarawak after beating Perlis 2-1 in the final.
The victory, according to Jayanandhan, was well rewarded by the state government when an astroturf was built at Jalan Betek in Bukit Mertajam. Prior to that, he said the team was training without proper facilities.
When Rajendran was representing Penang in football from 1968 to 1970, it was a golden era as the state then had illustrious players like Isa Bakar, Ali Bakar, Ibrahim Mydin, Syed Ahmad, Shaharudin Abdullah, Namat Abdullah, V. Krishnamoorthy and Mohamed Bakar.
The son of a Malayan Railway station master was also adept at handling the hockey stick. He came from a family line quite famous for hockey; his cousin M. Mahendran and niece Sulochana Bairam were both hockey internationals and his uncle K.S.P. Sundram was a state player.
Besides representing Malaysia at the Nehru Memorial Tournament and the East Asian Games, Bob had also played in the 1971 Sea Games in Kuala Lumpur and the 1973 Sea Games in Singapore.
One of his greatest disappointments in hockey was that after seven months of rigorous training for the Munich Olympics, he was dropped from the team – in favour of a player who was not even in the training squad.
But in later years, Rajendran found great satisfaction in guiding players of all races since 1979, treating them “as my own children.”
Rajendran left behind wife Catherine Lim, a retired MBPP staff member who was active in netball, and son, Vikneshwaran.
The funeral service will be held on July 29 (Sunday) with the cortege leaving Rajendran’s house at No. 2Y, Lorong Delima 18, Island Glades, 11700 Penang at 2pm for Batu Gantong Crematorium.