OBITUARY Ex-sportsmen seldom make good coaches. Isthiaq Mubarak bucked the trend. He probably is the only ex-international who has produced endless champions.
He was no ordinary coach. Nor was he an ordinary athlete. He was special. A passionate lover of sports.
To the athletes he was a father figure. More of a Svengali. Young athletes looked up to him as a role model.
Ishtiaq had the acumen of spotting talent. He simply loved to pick 15-year-olds and groom them to become champions.
When I first met Ishtiaq in 1981 at the Kampung Pandan sports complex in Kuala Lumpur, he was training Wan Zaleha Radzi, 15, to hurdle.
Less than a year later Wan Zaleha, who later made her name as a TV3 newscaster, was winning medals in school championships at Asean level.
"Ishtiaq was more than an inspiration. He was kind of a coach you just trust and surrender yourself too," recalls Zaleha.
Ishtiaq had an uncanny ability to get the best out of an athlete. He was a great motivator. One can cite numerous examples but a classic case was that of decathlete Hanapiah Nasir.
A dropout from Jasin Malacca, Hanapiah moved to KL to work in the Public Works Department.
He use to linger at the Kampung Pandan Sports Centre and Ishtiaq, who was a sports coordinator with Malayan Banking, took the raw Hanapiah under his wing. First attempt with his height and physique was hurdles. Soon Ishtiaq saw in him the potential of being a master of the 10-event decathlon.
Hanapiah went on to win honours and set records at both regional and continental levels. Without doubt one of Malaysia's finest decathlete.
Ishtiaq was a talented sportsman himself. Though he made his name in athletics - 110m hurldles to be precise - he was also a fine cricketer.
Those who studied with him in Victoria Institution will tell you how the headmaster - the famous Murugesu -would keep an eye on Ishtiaq so that he did not stray into other sports.
"There was one occasion Murugesu actually caught Ishtiaq playing cricket. Ishtiaq was a restless soul. He must remain active," recalls Qadeer Ahmad, owner of sports firm Car & Co.
"I was in St John Institution and used to walk over to the VI grounds to play cricket."
Those were the days when schools like Victoria Institution laid greater emphasis on sports than academia in enrolling students.
Isthiaq was specially brought in from Pasar Road school to VI, based on his sporting excellence.
Low profile
Isthiaq was of a rare breed. He was a non-conformist.
On one occasion, he walked into a function, wearing just jeans, t-shirt and the trademark bandana on his head.
Looking a little puzzled as to why the others were in full suits and ties, he remarked: “I thought it is a sports function. I was taught that, in sports, you dress light and easy."
Ishtiaq was also one who never offered or contested a post. He used to wonder why people jostled for positions and even held elections in sports.
Neither did he seek or lobby for awards such as datuk-ships.
Says Nashatar Singh, former Malaysian athletics coaching chairperson: "We had our differences. But you never heard Ishtiaq talking bad about someone. He had no time for gossip. He was happy left alone coaching."
Former national runner Dr Mani Jegathesan said he did not belly-ache either.
Ishtiaq shared the rare honour with Jegathesan as the only Malaysian to reach the semifinals of the Olympics. Jegathesan did it twice - Tokyo 1964 and Mexico 1968. Ishtiaq achieved the honour in the 1976 Montreal Olympics.
Actually Ishtiaq was more than a sporting icon. Blessed with good looks - his father was a Punjabi mussalaman from the district of Moga in Punjab and mum was a Malaysian Eurasian - Ishtiaq had a lot of admirers.
Charismatic and flamboyant, he once remarked to me at the Lake Gardens after the annual Robert Road Relays: "In the life of a champion there is only distraction . Women."
Over my 20 years as a sports journalist, I observed that Ishtiaq was one of those who shunned publicity. Many a time he would appeal to the press to focus on the athlete rather than the coach.
"I have had enough coverage. Please, it is their moment," he would say.
I can only conclude that, unlike other coaches from the ranks of school teachers and probably ordinary athletes in their heyday, Ishtiaq had extensive coverage of his glorious sporting career that spanned more than a decade.
Ishtiaq was also a reporter's delight. His quotes made good copy.
My all time favourite was when reporters asked him about his three Olympic outings - in 1968, 1972 and 1976.
His answer: "Your first Olympics is like your first kiss. It's a dream. But you don't know the possibilities and responsibilities that go with it."
Source : http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/238153
He was no ordinary coach. Nor was he an ordinary athlete. He was special. A passionate lover of sports.
To the athletes he was a father figure. More of a Svengali. Young athletes looked up to him as a role model.
Ishtiaq had the acumen of spotting talent. He simply loved to pick 15-year-olds and groom them to become champions.
When I first met Ishtiaq in 1981 at the Kampung Pandan sports complex in Kuala Lumpur, he was training Wan Zaleha Radzi, 15, to hurdle.
Less than a year later Wan Zaleha, who later made her name as a TV3 newscaster, was winning medals in school championships at Asean level.
"Ishtiaq was more than an inspiration. He was kind of a coach you just trust and surrender yourself too," recalls Zaleha.
Ishtiaq had an uncanny ability to get the best out of an athlete. He was a great motivator. One can cite numerous examples but a classic case was that of decathlete Hanapiah Nasir.
A dropout from Jasin Malacca, Hanapiah moved to KL to work in the Public Works Department.
He use to linger at the Kampung Pandan Sports Centre and Ishtiaq, who was a sports coordinator with Malayan Banking, took the raw Hanapiah under his wing. First attempt with his height and physique was hurdles. Soon Ishtiaq saw in him the potential of being a master of the 10-event decathlon.
Hanapiah went on to win honours and set records at both regional and continental levels. Without doubt one of Malaysia's finest decathlete.
Ishtiaq was a talented sportsman himself. Though he made his name in athletics - 110m hurldles to be precise - he was also a fine cricketer.Those who studied with him in Victoria Institution will tell you how the headmaster - the famous Murugesu -would keep an eye on Ishtiaq so that he did not stray into other sports.
"There was one occasion Murugesu actually caught Ishtiaq playing cricket. Ishtiaq was a restless soul. He must remain active," recalls Qadeer Ahmad, owner of sports firm Car & Co.
"I was in St John Institution and used to walk over to the VI grounds to play cricket."
Those were the days when schools like Victoria Institution laid greater emphasis on sports than academia in enrolling students.
Isthiaq was specially brought in from Pasar Road school to VI, based on his sporting excellence.
Low profile
Isthiaq was of a rare breed. He was a non-conformist.
On one occasion, he walked into a function, wearing just jeans, t-shirt and the trademark bandana on his head.
Looking a little puzzled as to why the others were in full suits and ties, he remarked: “I thought it is a sports function. I was taught that, in sports, you dress light and easy."
Ishtiaq was also one who never offered or contested a post. He used to wonder why people jostled for positions and even held elections in sports.
Neither did he seek or lobby for awards such as datuk-ships.
Says Nashatar Singh, former Malaysian athletics coaching chairperson: "We had our differences. But you never heard Ishtiaq talking bad about someone. He had no time for gossip. He was happy left alone coaching."
Former national runner Dr Mani Jegathesan said he did not belly-ache either.
Ishtiaq shared the rare honour with Jegathesan as the only Malaysian to reach the semifinals of the Olympics. Jegathesan did it twice - Tokyo 1964 and Mexico 1968. Ishtiaq achieved the honour in the 1976 Montreal Olympics.Actually Ishtiaq was more than a sporting icon. Blessed with good looks - his father was a Punjabi mussalaman from the district of Moga in Punjab and mum was a Malaysian Eurasian - Ishtiaq had a lot of admirers.
Charismatic and flamboyant, he once remarked to me at the Lake Gardens after the annual Robert Road Relays: "In the life of a champion there is only distraction . Women."
Over my 20 years as a sports journalist, I observed that Ishtiaq was one of those who shunned publicity. Many a time he would appeal to the press to focus on the athlete rather than the coach.
"I have had enough coverage. Please, it is their moment," he would say.
I can only conclude that, unlike other coaches from the ranks of school teachers and probably ordinary athletes in their heyday, Ishtiaq had extensive coverage of his glorious sporting career that spanned more than a decade.
Ishtiaq was also a reporter's delight. His quotes made good copy.
My all time favourite was when reporters asked him about his three Olympic outings - in 1968, 1972 and 1976.
His answer: "Your first Olympics is like your first kiss. It's a dream. But you don't know the possibilities and responsibilities that go with it."
Source : http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/238153
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