KUALA LUMPUR: Ranjit Singh Sidhu, one of the country's rare "double internationals" in sports, died today.
He had represented Malaysia in hockey as a right fullback at the 1966 Bangkok Asian Games in Thailand, and had played for Selangor in the Razak Cup.
In cricket, he also represented Selangor and played for the country from 1960 to 1982.
According to his youngest brother Harbhajan Singh, Ranjit, who would have turned 80 on May 7, died of heart failure at the KPJ Sentosa Specialist Hospital, here, at 11.20am.
"My brother had been seeking medical treatment for many years for lingering cellulitis on his leg and had been in an out of hospital," he said.
He leaves behind daughter Katherine Mahani in Penang, and sons Daniel Singh in Australia and Damian Singh in London. His wife Fay Wilson, an Australian, died in 2002.
Ranjit's remains would be taken from his home in Gombak for a wake at the Loke Yew crematorium at 10am, followed by his funeral at the same venue at noon.
One of Ranjit's close friends Terry Tharmanathan, who played hockey and cricket at local league matches, described it as a very sad day for Malaysia.
"Ranjit was a deft sportsman, who was skilful in both sports. He was feared by many an opponent when he took to the field.
"We will all miss him greatly," said Tharmanathan, who had known Ranjit since 1972 when the latter was working with the then National Electricity Board (NEB) (now Tenaga Nasional) and they often met at the corporation's Kilat Club in Bangsar.
Tharmanathan, who played for PKNS (Selangor State Economic Development Corporation), added that Ranjit was a very good hockey short-corner specialist, scoring many goals.
"His goals were clean drives along the grass-pitch grounds like a bullet. He could bat in cricket matches to hit boundaries. That was his weapon," said Tharmanathan.
Former national cricketer Clarance Samuel described Ranjit as a stylish bat for Malaysia.
"He was excellent off the back foot. A very unassuming gentleman, Ranjit played his heart out and gave his 100 per cent in every match.
"It was an honour to have played alongside him as a young player in the national team in 1972-73," said Samuel, now the general manager for the Royal Port Dickson Yacht Club.
Former national cricket captain Hector Durairatnam described Ranjit as a sporting icon when the latter was inducted into the Malaysian Cricket Association's "Hall of Fame".
Hector told the New Straits Times that, like the late "double international" legend Michael Francis "Mike" Shepherdon, Ranjit, too, hailed from Sentul.
"Not many knew that Ranjit represented the country both in hockey and cricket, like Mike. But that is Ranjit, not one to boast about himself but be like his batting, quietly accumulating runs.
"Let my bat do the talking, he would say," said Hector.
He added that Ranjit had joined NEB soon after school, and soon impressed all who watched and saw him play hockey and cricket.
He recalled Ranjit playing for Selangor as a teenager in 1960 and later, when Kuala Lumpur was formed.
"In all, Ranjit had scored an unbelievable 25 centuries (or 25 times 100 runs). In the MCA League, teams like Kedah, Penang, Perak, Melaka, Johor and even Singapore bore the brunt of Ranjit's thirst for runs.
"Ranjit was also prolific in the government services tournaments, often punishing opposing teams with in excess of 150 runs.
"In 1964, Ranjit scored a 100 in the MCA finals which moved (former New Straits Times sports editor) Norman Siebel to rate Ranjit as the second best batsman in Malaysia after Mike Shepherdson.
"Ranjit was also a very good medium pace bowler and his accuracy and prowess led his teammates to name him the 'Machine'," said Hector.
Ranjit's best performance as a bowler was in the North/South match in 1963 where he grabbed seven wickets for 28 runs.
"Ranjit was an automatic choice in the national team for the 1982 Mini World Cup and the ICC Trophy in Birmingham, 1982. It was here that he struck the first ball for a six in the first match that Malaysia played. This was against a strong Bermuda team," said Hector.