Ramachandran unhappy his records remain intact for 28 years

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 27 (Bernama) -- Former national long distance ace M. Ramachandran today marked his 28th anniversary of the 10,000 metre (m) national record that was set in 1994.

About three weeks after his national record in the 5,000m, also still untouched for 28-years, the 1993 National Sportsman and Olympian award winner, Ramachandran is clearly not in the mood to celebrate.

The four-time double SEA Games gold medallist from 1993 to 1999, is clearly disappointed that no Malaysian runner has been able to improve his mark for almost three decades in events that the Johorean had dominated, especially in regional games.

When asked about the doldrums in the track and field events, the 56-year-old cited lack of involvement and determination among the current generation to excel in the sport.

“The current athletes, aided by monthly allowances, world-class facilities in Bukit Jalil and advanced technology, especially from the National Sports Institute (NSI), are still unable to break the record.

“It is very dishearthening for me to see both the records still intact. From my opinion, the main problem is they are not determined and fully involved to achieve big in their career, apart from poor development in the sports.

“Many opt to run in shorter distances thinking ‘why need to run 25 rounds for 10,000m when I can finish the race in one round’ if it is a 400m event. Huge commitment is required for any athlete to become champions,” he told Bernama.

Ramachandran, who broke both the national 5,000m and 10,000m record six-times in six different countries between June 1989 and August 1994, is regarded as the best long distance runner produced in the country, and also the first and only Malaysian to dip below 30 minutes in 10,000m.

His feat of 14 minutes and 06.84 seconds to win the 5,000m event at the Hamburg Open in Troisdorf, Germany on Aug 5, 1994 and 29:30.19s for 10,000m set at the 1994 Commonwealth Games in Victoria, Canada to finish seventh on Aug 27, are among the longest standing national athletics records.

Meanwhile, Ramachandran was also disappointed to the fact that, the national athletics team could only deliver five out of 47 gold medals offered at the past two SEA Games, whereas during the 90s, the field and track events used to be the main gold contributors for the country with an average of over 10 gold medals.

-- BERNAMA