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The names, Karamjit Singh aka Flying Sikh, Karam Singh Walia and the late Karpal Singh aka Jelutong Tiger are household names that need no introduction at all to most if not every Malaysians. The mere mention of Jelutong Tiger would send shivers down the spine of most government politicians in the parliament and many unscrupulous environment pollutants detest the vociferous Karam Singh walia who would give them a run for their money.
Unfortunately, many would turn a blind eye to the Golden Whistle hockey umpire, Amarjit Singh Jessey who hails from Ipoh. The most decorated Malaysian hockey Umpire unfortunately passed away suddenly after suffering a heart attack at his home in Canning Garden, Ipoh on 21.2.2023. He was only 59.
Most Malaysian are unaware, due to the lackadaisical promotion of hockey in our country that the late Amarjit Singh was the most celebrated hockey umpire who had officiated in three Olympics and four World Cups, a feat never achieved by any Malaysians officials by far, be it in any sports.
He was the first Asian to receive the Federation of International Hockey (FIH) Golden Whistle, an award similar to the Balloon D'or in football, which is awarded to those who had umpired 100 international matches and Amarjit had till his untimely death, officiated in 154 international hockey games.
The Golden Whistle was a deserved recognition for Amarjit who showed relentless commitment and passion from the 1990s to make important contribution to the hockey fraternity in Malaysia and Asia on the whole. Not known to most Malaysians, he featured at three Olympics Games, namely Sydney (2000), Athens (2004) and Beijing (2008) - and in his tenure as an Olympic umpire, displayed exceptional umpiring skills while maintaining the integrity and fairness of the game.
The late Amarjit was also praised for his usually calm and composed demeanour on and even off the field, even in the most high-pressure situations, during the four world cups that he officiated in Utrecht, Holland (1998), Kuala Lumpur (2002), Mongchengladbach, Germany (2006), and in New Delhi (2010). His apt and sharp decisions in handling world-level games also earned him appointments for the Junior World Cup in Rotterdam, Netherlands (2005), two Commonwealth Games, two Champions Trophy and one European Nations Cup.
The sudden passing away of Amarjit Singh, a former bank officer, comes as a shock and left many from the hockey fraternity in disbelief as he just returned from Bangladesh three weeks ago where he conducted a course for umpires as an FIH educator and scheduled to conduct another course in Vietnam next month. He has certainly left too soon and will leave a big vacuum for any umpires fom Malaysia to come close to his achievements or to officiate at the Olympics
Even though we have capable young umpires by the likes of Eric Koh, Anbanathan and Nazmi Kamarudin who could fill in his big shoes but their chances are hampered by the inability of the national hockey team to qualify for the most prestigious sports in the world as the appointment of an umpire is based on the qualification of their national team for the Olympics and World Cup.
For the record international umpire, Anbanathan got a call-up to the recent 2022 World Cup in Bhubaneswar, India mainly because Malaysia narrowly qualified or else no Malaysian umpires would have had the opportunity to officiate in such a prestigious sports event. Therefore, the Malaysian Hockey Confederation (MHC) must take concerted effort to ensure the national hockey team must qualify for such prestigious games and not narrowly or getting wild-card entry.
We bid farewell to the late Amarjit Singh Jersey who had contributed immensely to the hockey fraternity in Malaysia and surely his Goliath feat will never be forgotten. Perhaps, it would be fittingly earnest for the MHC to rename the ongoing Malaysian Hockey League trophy in memory of Amarjit Singh or if they dare, rename the National Hockey Stadium after the late Amarjit Singh, which would definitely be a befitting farewell to the passing of the most decorated sports personality in the country. Farewell my friend, hope you Rest In Peace in the arms of His Almighty.
Sandra Gesan is a content creator under the Newswav Creator programme, where you get to express yourself, be a citizen journalist, and at the same time monetize your content & reach millions of users on Newswav. Log in to creator.newswav.com and become a Newswav Creator now!
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