![]() ![]() Ramasamy, Priyanka and Rethinambal at Dr Ramasamy’s office in Komtar. (From left) Kowsalya, Vairavasundaram, lawyer Subramaniam, Penang Deputy Chief Minister II Prof Dr P. He has a powerful testimony,” said Veera. “Just like me, he has also been invited to give motivational talks. Suthakar for approaching Kek Lok Si Temple to help provide some financial aid to Sharwhin and his sister for their education. Veera credited state executive councillor Chong Eng for introducing Sharwhin a local basketball club (Youngsters Basketball Club) to train with and The Star former news editor (regional) K. His big moment came when he was selected by the Malaysian Basketball Association to attend the prestigious NBA & FIBA Asia Community outreach programme in Tokyo in 2019. Today, Sharwhin Sivaragu, who is now 19 years old and stands at 6’ 10”, has represented Penang and the national team. Of them all, he found an exceptionally lanky 12-year-old boy from a poor family and inspired him to become a basketball player. To date, he has spoken to over 10,000 students. With his wealth of experience, Veera started a ‘Zero to Hero’ programme and has gone to schools and centres to provide motivational talks. The crowd loved it because it was spectacular.” “This was actually an exhibition fight we were not trying to hurt one another. Veera won the bout, which was also witnessed by his wife and both his daughters. Rethinambal, was pregnant with their first child.īut he later returned to the ring for one last fling at age 49, fighting against a 21-year-old Thai in the Pesta 2010 Muay Thai exhibition at the Sungai Nibong Pesta site. He quit martial art competition at the age of 34 when his wife, P. He also obtained a diploma in Security Management. When he was working at ParkRoyal Penang Resort, Veera took up further studies and obtained his diploma in Sports Management and then completed his MBA in Sports Management. The Penang International Okinawan Goju Ryu training center at Che Hoon Khor Moral Uplifting Society Penang in 1985. At the age of six, I saw my mother cried hysterically over the death of her father who was an alcoholic. And I have never touched alcohol and cigarette. “I have never associated myself with any gangs. Veera had represented Malaysia in several international championships and won the prestigious 1993 North America Full Contact Championships held in Baltimore, Maryland.īecause of his martial art prowess and military training, Veera worked at different jobs before – a bodyguard for a prominent businessman, a bouncer for a Penang nightclub, a karate coach in New Zealand, an assistant safety and security manager at ParkRoyal Penang Resort and a security manager at Osram. What was even more remarkable was that he became a champion in three different martial arts, namely boxing, kickboxing and sanda (Chinese kickboxing). After a few short years, he became a national sportsman. ‘Front-kick’ photo featuring Vairavasundaram and Ricky Kam which won them a winning photo in the National Photograph Contest in conjunction with the 1988 Seoul Olympics.Īfter his repentance, Veera became very disciplined and trained very hard. I wanted to be a world champion and have a well sculptured body like Bruce Lee’s,” Veera said. He was also an idol to many people during that era. “Instantaneously, Bruce Lee became my idol. Bruce Lee was like a messenger sent by God to me. “They took me to watch this movie, called ‘Fist of Fury’, and my life was transformed. He was placed 1st runner-up in the 19 Mr Penang lightweight division.Īt 16, Veera was sent to Kuala Lumpur to be with his cousins during the school holidays. Vairavasundaram showing off his six packs. When I came back, I became rebellious and was becoming a monster, bullying my sisters and taking their school money, and doing terrible things,” Veera, as he is better known, recalled. Over there, he said he was verbally abused. That move by his father, he said, affected him emotionally as he was very attached to his mother. He vividly remembers that his father was very hard on him when he was a little boy and used to chain him, out of worry that his hyper active son might be spoilt by bad influences in the Taman Free School flats where he was living with his family, and its neighbourhood in Penang.Ī further blow came when he was sent to India to stay with his relatives. Vairavasundaram says he was a hyper active boy. He played truant when he was studying at Georgetown Secondary School. Vairavasundaram, who turns 60 on Oct 23, has some bitter memories of his youth. HE was a wayward teenager and would possibly have wrecked his own life had he not seen a 1972 Hong Kong action martial art film, the ‘Fist of Fury’ starring Bruce Lee.
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