.
.
M.Ramachandran celebrating his 10,000m
win with his mother S.Muniammal and father, T.Murusamy immediately after
the race at the National Stadium in Singapore yesterday.
-Bernamapic.
M.RAMACHANDRAN and P.Jayanthi were
in scorching form on a cold morning to bag their second gold medal in the
10,000m yesterday.
..
With his entire family rousing themselves
from their slumber to support him, Ramachandran schemed his way to a second
Games and malaysian record of 30:05.09 woth a powerful burst in the last
200m.
.
Winner of the 5,000m on Tuesday,
Ramachandran
climbed up the photographers stand
into the arms of his mother, Muniammal, who has turned up for the first
time from Muar to watch her son run.
.
It was a case of better late than
never for Ramachandran fulfilling a promise that he had failed to deliver
at the last Games in Manila where he was down with flu.
.
"I promised to bring back two gold
medals then but failed.i know it's late but here they are," said the 27
year old athlete after collecting his medal.
.
The previous games record of 30:07.72
was set by Indonesia's Eduard Nobunome in 1991.The national record of 30:05.92
belonged to Ramachandran before yesterday's sizzling race.
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17th SEA GAMES
A gold for Rama
as mum watches
|
.
INSPIRED by the presence of his
mother, M.Ramachandran ran a cracking 5,000m to win the gold medal at the
National Stadium yesterday.
.
Ramachandraan, who failed to hit
gold in the last two Games, ran a blistering 14:08.97 to erase the Games
record of 14:12.66 held by Indonesia's Subeno since 1991.
..
His time also clipped a good 12
seconds off the national record of 14:20.58 he set at the National Trials
last month.
..
A jubilant Ramachandran said his
mum, S.Muniammah, had been in the terraces.
.
"I 've been running for 10 years
and this is the first time my mother watched me in action. She came all
the way from Muar and I did not want to disappoint her," said Ramachandran.
.
"I'm not going to forget this day.
The gold has made up for my past two failures. I sacrificed a lot over
the last six month and skipped several road races to concentrate on my
training for the Games.
"I have to thank my coaches Mokhtar
Abu and R.Jeganathan for drawing up the training programme for the Games."
.
In Kuala Lumpur '89, Ramachandran
played second fiddle to Indonesia's Eduard Nabunome while in Manila he
failed to get among the medalists.
.
Yesterday, Ramachandran started
off well and kept with the pack, comprising defending champion subeno and
Myanmar's Gopal and Shwe Aung.
.
But, when he broke away in the 10th
lap,there was no doubt who would win the event.
..
.
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I CAN, I WILL
Rama confident of 5,000m gold
|
.
LONG-DISTANCE ace M.Ramachandran
missed the SEA Games qualifying mark by almost seven seconds but is still
confident of winning the 5,000m in the Singapore Sea Games.
.
The pint sized Johor runner posted
a personal best and new national mark of 14:20.58s in the MAAU trials four
weeks ago.
.
He said his time is the fasted in
Southeast Asia this year.
.
That has certainly boosted his confidence.
After all the best 5,000m time posted by an Indonesian this season is 14:30.00.
..
However Ramachandran is not complacent
and has been training hard under A.Jeganathan at the maybank sports Complex
in Bangi. He wants to be in tip-top shape for the games.
.
Ramachandran has been impressive
in in tune-up races, winning all the track and road races since February.
According to Sea Games chief coach Harun Rasheed , he is in better form
now.
.
He said Ramachandran has good speed
now as evident by his victory in the FT AAA Allcomers a fortnight ago.
.
He won the 1,500m event in a smart
time of 3:53.00, faster than the times posted by Sea Games 1,500m runners
R.Thangavellu and S.Geneson.
.
He has not ruled out the possibility
of rewritting his national record.
.
As for the 10,000m, he thinks he
is good for a medal but feels he has to run the race of his life to win
it.
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THE MALAY MAIL
MAY 29,1993
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A golden gift of love from Rama
to mum
|
.
Muniammah waits alone as son wins race
.
While others moved closer to the
finishing line to catch the men's 10,000 final race, S.Muniammah cut a
lonely figure on an almost empty terrace.
.
But her son, M.Ramachandran, did
not disappoint her or the country. In a keenly contestrd race at the National
stadium yesterday, Ramachandran ran home in a games record of 30:05.09.
.
The time wiped out the Indonesia's
Eduard Nubunome's 1991 record of 30:07.72 and his own national mark of
30:05.92, set at the asian Track and Field Championships in 1989.
.
"My mother was scared. She wanted
me to win but wasn't sure if I could do it. She did not have the strength
to join the other family members who moved closer to watch," said Ramachandran.
.
"It was a big relief for her after
I crossed the finishing line."
.
On Tuesday, when Ramachandran ran
the 5,000m
and won his first Games medal, it
was the first time Muniammah had watched her son race in a 10-year career.Yesterday,
it was more joy for her.
.
Ramachandran, who was running his
third 10,000m for the year, faced stiff challenges from Myanmar's Gopal
and Indonesia's Osias Kamlasae and Hasnanudin.
.
He broke away from the pack in the
lasst lap with Gopal hot on his heels. At the 150m mark, the Malaysian
made the kick for home. And with 50m to go, he stole a glance backwards
and raised his hands in triumph.
.
Ramachandran saaid the record breaking
run was a surprise because he had not trained very hard for the 10,000m.
.
"I was only interested in doing
agood time.Only in the race did I realise that I had a chance to win the
gold. I was not worried about the others.I just concentrated on my run,"
said Ramachandran.
.
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RM 1,000 REWARD FOR RECORD BREAKERS
|
.
M.Ramachandran will be the biggest
beneficiary, receiving RM 11,000 for his record breaking faets in the mens's
5,000m and 10,000m where he set a new national and Sea Games marks.
.
His extraordinary run will fetch
him RM1,500 each from NSC and MAAU for the gold. NSC will also pay out
RM500 for a games record.
With the MAAU's RM 1,000
offer each for a national and Sea Games record, Ramachandran is RM 11,000
richer.
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NEW STRAITS TIMES
JUN 19,1993
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RAMA AND JAYANTHI BAG
A DOUBLE
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M.RAMACHANDRAN and P.Jayanthi
completed a personal Sea Games double when they won the men's and women's
10,000m for Malaysia at Singapore's National Stadium this morning.
Ramachandran,who had won the
5,000m earlier, clocked the 10,000m in 30:05.09, which beat the national
record of 30:05.92 set by him in the Asian Track and Field meet in New
Delhi in 1981.
Ramachandran's family travelled
from Muar to cheer him this morning.
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THE MALAY MAIL
JUN 17, 1993
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utama