Rudyard Kipling"
“When you're left wounded on Afganistan's plains and
the women come out to cut up what remains, Just roll to your rifle
and blow out your brains,
And go to your God like a soldier”
General Douglas MacArthur"
“We are not retreating. We are advancing in another direction.”
“It is fatal to enter any war without the will to win it.” “Old soldiers never die; they just fade away.
“The soldier, above all other people, prays for peace, for he must suffer and be the deepest wounds and scars of war.”
“May God have mercy upon my enemies, because I won't .” “The object of war is not to die for your country but to make the other bastard die for his.
“Nobody ever defended, there is only attack and attack and attack some more.
“It is foolish and wrong to mourn the men who died. Rather we should thank God that such men lived.
The Soldier stood and faced God
Which must always come to pass
He hoped his shoes were shining
Just as bright as his brass
"Step forward you Soldier,
How shall I deal with you?
Have you always turned the other cheek?
To My Church have you been true?"
"No, Lord, I guess I ain't
Because those of us who carry guns
Can't always be a saint."
I've had to work on Sundays
And at times my talk was tough,
And sometimes I've been violent,
Because the world is awfully rough.
But, I never took a penny
That wasn't mine to keep.
Though I worked a lot of overtime
When the bills got just too steep,
The Soldier squared his shoulders and said
And I never passed a cry for help
Though at times I shook with fear,
And sometimes, God forgive me,
I've wept unmanly tears.
I know I don't deserve a place
Among the people here.
They never wanted me around
Except to calm their fears.
If you've a place for me here,
Lord, It needn't be so grand,
I never expected or had too much,
But if you don't, I'll understand."
There was silence all around the throne
Where the saints had often trod
As the Soldier waited quietly,
For the judgment of his God.
"Step forward now, you Soldier,
You've borne your burden well.
Walk peacefully on Heaven's streets,
You've done your time in Hell."
1,600 kids, 18 100m heats, and a grassroots spark By Frankie D'Cruz
Thursday, September 11, 2025
FMT : What 1,613 kids tell us about athletics that has lost its shine at senior level.
KUALA LUMPUR : If athletics can keep this fire alive beyond one weekend, the sport’s future might just be sprinting back to life.
The whistle blew and they lined up. Eight to a lane, 18 heats to clear in the 100m. For the boys and girls aged 10–12, and
for boys aged 13–15, the track never stayed empty. Heat after heat,
fresh faces sprinted down the straight.
Few in Malaysian athletics could remember
such a sight: not a national meet, not a school carnival, but a
development championship so packed that nearly 60 starts were needed for
just three categories of one event.
This was the Federal Territory Athletics
Association (FTAA) Rakan Muda Athletics Development Championships, held
last weekend at the Stadium UPM in Serdang. The numbers told their own story. The inaugural edition in 2023 drew just over 1,000 participants. Last year, 1,669 signed up.
This year, 1,613 athletes aged seven to
15 came from 103 school and club teams. Several more were turned away;
the organisers had reached their limit.
Consider the breakdown. Boys aged 13–15 in the 100m: 18 heats, 144 sprinters. The same number for boys and girls aged 10–12. Boys aged seven-nine in the 80m: 12 heats, 96 runners. Girls in that age group: 10 heats, 80 athletes.
Flying without fear — a seven-to-nine long jumper turns the runway into a stage for pure imagination. (FTAA pic)
In the 200m for girls aged 10–12, 17
heats (136 runners). The boys had 13 (104). In the 400m for girls aged
13–15, nine heats (72); the boys, 11 (88). Even the 1,500m for boys aged 13–15 had six heats (48 middle-distance runners).
That’s more than 1,000 children in nine events, before adding the other running events and field disciplines. Given the entries, the format had to
stretch. From 18 heats, 24 sprinters advanced to the semi-finals, then
the best eight fought for medals in the finals.
Keeping it affordable
Each athlete paid RM10 to enter. “We are about development, not profit,”
said FTAA president V Pulanthiran. With support from the youth and
sports ministry and the Federal Territory sports council, RM10 was
enough, he added. “Event companies charge big amounts.”
Accessibility mattered. With school
budgets tight and parents counting costs, the low fee was a statement
that athletics belongs to everyone, not just those who can afford elite
competition.
Parents in the stands
The stands were loud and full. Many parents did more than cheer. They handed out medals. “Imagine a daughter receiving her medal from her mother,” said Pulanthiran. “That picture will be framed in their home forever.”
It was more than sentiment. “Involving
parents reinforced that the meet was not about stardom. It was about
building families into the fabric of athletics,” said Pulanthiran.
Pathway ahead
For a sport often written off as stagnant, the weekend was a breath of fresh air. The sight of 1,600 children filling the
lanes gave athletics something it has lacked: proof that the grassroots
are alive, at least in Kuala Lumpur.
The problem has never been children’s interest. The problem has been keeping them in the sport after school. FTAA is trying to fix that. Officials
will track the best performers from last weekend. The top five will move
on to the Milo-sponsored age-group championships in the region.
Baton
in hand, friendships in stride — 13-15 the boys’ relay captures the
spirit of teamwork that keeps athletics alive. (FTAA pic)
The next step comes in December. From Dec
5–7, FTAA will host an under-21 meet for athletes aged 15–21, with
1,800 entries expected. That meet will double as the long list for the
2026 Sukma Games.
This is what a pathway looks like:
entry-level meets for children, selection to regional championships,
then progression to Sukma. The pieces are still fragile, but at least they are connected.
Uneven picture
Step outside Kuala Lumpur and the picture
changes. Clubs and individuals run talent clinics, but all charge fees.
Only the Young Talent Track and Field Club in Ipoh offers free
training.
Among the state associations, FTAA stands
almost alone in having structured programmes to unearth talent.
Elsewhere, the system relies on ad hoc efforts. This unevenness is a threat. When only one state does the heavy lifting, the national pool will always be shallow.
The fire lit by grassroots enthusiasm risks being doused before it spreads.
Beyond medals
Here is where Pulanthiran is clear. “A comprehensive programme is essential,”
he said. “Rather than chasing immediate success, we should focus on
long-term development.” He added: “Identify talent early, train them well, and instil a love for fitness. That is how they stay in the sport.
At 10, it should not matter who wins
gold. What matters is that a boy or girl walks off the track smiling,
proud, and ready to run again.”
Medals, smiles and memories — champions of tomorrow share their moment with FTAA president V Pulanthiran (left). (FTAA pic)
Schools: the silent engine
FTAA credits schools too. Teachers and coaches have kept athletics alive, often without recognition. “Schools are doing their part,”
Pulanthiran said. “That is why we had so many entries. With more time
and space, we could have taken even more.”
It is a reminder: associations may get the headlines, but schools are the silent engine of youth athletics. Too much demand can still hurt. Several
schools and clubs that applied late were rejected. In development sport,
every child turned away is a chance lost.
FTAA calls it a good problem. But if structures cannot expand, the moment risks slipping away.
What it all means
Last weekend proved that children want to
run. They will line up, heat after heat, in events that have lost
glamour at senior level. They will pay RM10, lace up spikes, and sprint with joy.
It also proved that if the system
responds now — with clinics, affordable entry, and clear pathways —
athletics can stop mourning its decline and start talking revival. Grassroots is not a cliché. It is 1,613
children filling the lanes in Serdang. It is a daughter receiving a
medal from her mother.
It is the whistle blowing again and again for 18
heats of 100m sprints.
