One last crack at glory

SINGAPORE — Chamkaur Singh Dhaliwal does not have many memories of the old National Stadium. As a schoolboy runner at Ahmad Ibrahim Secondary School, he had competed there and described the experience as “nerve-racking”.

The Grand Old Dame hosted the 1993 SEA Games — the last one hosted here — and was torn down in 2010 and replaced by a new National Stadium, which opened last year. With the venue set to host the SEA Games athletics competition in June, the spotlight will most likely shine on up-and-coming talents such as Shanti Pereira — national record holder of the women’s 100m and 200m — and 400m runner Zubin Percy Muncherji.

But Dhaliwal, now 42 and a grizzled veteran, is determined to give the young ones a run for their money at the new stadium.

Now based in Sydney, Dhaliwal won a bronze medal in the men’s 1,500m at the 2003 SEA Games in Vietnam. If things go to plan, he will be the oldest member of Singapore’s track and field team — if he meets the qualifying mark of 3:58.37sec.

Many of his peers, such as sprinters U K Shyam and Hamkah Afik, have long hung up their spikes, but Dhaliwal has kept going.

“It’s been a long time since the SEA Games was held in Singapore and considering my age, this is probably my last hurrah for my country,” said IT professional Dhaliwal, who recently welcomed the birth of his first child, a baby girl, with his wife Lisa.

“I want to give it one last shot and racing in the brand new stadium is a nice finish for the SEA Games for me. I haven’t retired and I’m still training and competing in club meets. The qualifying time is within reach and I still have legs left to run.”

Once regarded Singapore’s most promising middle-distance runner, Dhaliwal stormed into the record books in 2002 after clocking 3:51.59 at the New South Wales State Championships to better Serjit Singh’s 23-year-old mark of 3:53.01. A year later, he won the SEA Games bronze with a time of 3:59.34.

Dhaliwal has been training with Athletics East Running club coach Peter Good since last June, after returning from a knee injury, and two weeks ago, he clocked a season’s best of 4min 7sec at the Sydney Club Championships.

But he admitted that racing against men half his age would be tough.

“Even over here in Sydney, I’m running with 18-year-olds, but I definitely give them a bit of competition,” he said. “When I’m going into a race, I don’t see that they are younger as I’m racing against the clock. I have more composure and experience and I’m not intimidated by fast guys anymore.

“I’m really excited … I’m not looking at medals yet as I need to qualify first, and it will be an achievement to qualify at this age.”

Ghana Segaran, the Singapore Athletic Association’s chairman of cross-country and road running, called Dhaliwal an inspiration for other older athletes, saying: “He is proof that age is no barrier. He is a disciplined guy who is passionate about the sport and his time of 4:07 is credible.”

He also insisted that Singapore was not lacking in middle-distance talent.

“We have a good pool of young runners in the 800m and 1,500m, like Soh Hua Qun and Zachary Deveraj. Zachary is serving National Service and he is hoping to make a comeback for SEA Games.”