COMMENT | Growing up in the sixties, in every street, every village, and every town, our sporting heroes were all Malaysians like Abdul Ghani Minhat, M Jegathesan, the brothers Tan Aik Huang and Aik Mong, and P Gunalan.

Then there were Ishtiaq Mubarak, S Rajamani, and P Savithri. Later still came the “Towkay” Soh Chin Ann, Santokh Singh, R Arumugam, and Mokhtar Dahari. I pulled these names out of my head. My apologies to those I didn’t.

And those were the times when sporting heroes and heroines were honoured, recognised, and rewarded by a grateful government. Or so I thought until yesterday. Rude shock aside, it made me ask why sports are dying in the very nursery of all sports, our schools.

Post Merdeka, sports and the playing field were what brought the young nation together. And our school padangs buzzed with energy and activity in the evenings of every school day. Like in all school padangs across the country.

The selection of track and field teams was based on...