This quartet have one thing in common - two of them are still active hurdlers, while the other two were hurdlers themselves before. (From left) 2006 Asian Games women's 400m hurdles bronze medallist, Noraseela Mohd Khalid, 2005 Manila SEA Games 110m hurdles gold medallist, Robani Hassan, Robani's coach Ithnin Mahadi, and his elder brother, Thalatha Mahadi.
Thalatha (left) was once one of the nation's top hurdlers. His rivalry with Hanapiah Nasir and Nasaruddin Mohd Nor in the 80s was quite legendary. When I was invited for a kenduri and Yassin recital at Ithnin's place last week, I did not recognise Thalatha. What I remembered most about the hurdler was his moustache and long hair. I asked Ithin, "Abang kau Thalatha mana?" "Ni ha..." pointing to Haji Thalatha who was standing right before me!Malaysia is a nation of hurdlers. Underlining this claim is the list of hurdlers produced over the decades - Karu Selvaratnam, Ishtiaq Mobarak, Zulkifli Yatim, Hanapiah Nasir, Nur Herman Majid, Faiz Muhammad, Hassan Ayob, Badrulhisham Jamaluddin, Hamdi Jaafar, Robani and Rayzam Shah Sofian. In the women's section, who could forget Marina Chin in her heyday in the 70s, Moh Siew Wei and of course Noraseela in the 90s. I'm not too sure if this proud tradition will continue, not at the rate things are going.
Ithnin is bound for West London's Brunel University, which is one of four UK Athletics High Performance Centres (HiPACs), to pursue his Masters degree. HiPACs bring together sports medics, sports scientists, coaches and performance management staff under one roof to ensure the athletes have access to all the support and expertise they need on one site. Perhaps once he comes back, Ithnin can share with the Malaysian authorities on how to work together for the greater benefit of all.
Ithnin's highest accolade as a hurdler was a medal in the Asean Inter-University Games in 1992. Four years earlier he was chosen as Johor's Most Promising Sportsman in1988 for winning the Asean Schools meet.
His male siblings were all named after the day they were born, with Khamis leading the way, followed by Jumaat, Thalatha, Rabu, Ithnin and Sabtu. The sons of Mahadi Daud from Parit Limbong, Muar, were known for their prowess in the highly technical event.
Thalatha had a few words of wisdom to share with Robani and Noraseela, who felt they were given hurdles to overcome in their bid to qualify for the recently concluded Beijing Olympics.
The hurdles, I can tell you, come in the form of mortals running the national body, the Malaysian Athletics Amateur Union (MAAU). That's why former National Sports Council official Rasu Maniam used to joke the MAAU abbreviation stands for Many Are Against U!
3 comments:
Bro
Kita perlukan perubahan, kita kena berubah sebab zaman berubah, begitu juga dengan persatua2 kebangsaan sebab kebanyakkannya di kendalikan oleh mereka2 yang terlalu lama berada di kerusi empuk persatuan tanpa membuat apa2 perubahan.Biarlah kita ketengahkan pemimpin baru bring a new blood, baru ada perubahan dan internal organ baru boleh berfungsi.
Bila kita cuba memperkenalkan sesuatu yang baru sure ada bantahan, dan bila ada pemimpin baru dlm persatuan sure kena pancung dek group lama.
Bro
Kita tengok FTAA banyak mana muka baru yg ada,dah berapa lama kawan kita pegang jawatan setiausaha, berapa lama dah karim dalam maau, berapa lama cikgu rasu (cikgu gua dulu kat KB)ada dlm maau,
Bak kata iklan berita harian zaman dah berubah tapi maau macam tu jugan tak akan berubah.
So bro you are free now ha ha ha
Harious
JOHn
berubah memang ke berubah.
KOAM takan boleh berubah selagi power broker ada di tangan SU POA negeri. Mereka ini lah yang perlu diubah dahulu sebab mereka lah yang memilih Karim, Raja DLL.
John, sebab itu kita kena fikir had kan tempoh bagi pemegang jawatan. katakan kalau persatuan A ada pemilihan setiap tiga tahun, kita bagi tempoh sembilan tahun atau tiga penggal. kalau mesyuarat agung pemilihannya dua tahun sekali, bagi empat penggal, cukup. masalahnya ada kalangan pemimpin OCM pun tak setuju, kerana OCM pun kenalah had kan penggal. tak de lah layanan karpet merah, kereta khas, jemputan percuma ke VIP lounge...diaorang boleh kata alah agensi kerajaan jadi KP sampai pencen...inilah dia Malaysia
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