[{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https:\/\/thehomeground.asia\/destinations\/singapore\/former-olympian-and-maker-of-track-stars-m-harichandra-dies\/#NewsArticle","mainEntityOfPage":"https:\/\/thehomeground.asia\/destinations\/singapore\/former-olympian-and-maker-of-track-stars-m-harichandra-dies\/","headline":"Former Olympian and maker of track stars M Harichandra dies","name":"Former Olympian and maker of track stars M Harichandra dies","description":"He represented Malaysia as a 800m runner at the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne before coming to Singapore to work as a Prisons officer. But M Harichandra never left his love to run. He took a group of young athletes under his wing and turned them into track stars including Serjit Singh, whose 46-year-old long […]","datePublished":"2022-06-30","dateModified":"2022-06-30","author":{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/thehomeground.asia\/author\/editor1\/#Person","name":"Judith Tan","url":"https:\/\/thehomeground.asia\/author\/editor1\/","identifier":57,"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/thehomeground.asia\/wp-content\/uploads\/Judith-Tan-100x100.jpg","url":"https:\/\/thehomeground.asia\/wp-content\/uploads\/Judith-Tan-100x100.jpg","height":96,"width":96}},"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"TheHomeGround Asia","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/thehomeground.asia\/wp-content\/uploads\/photo_2021-07-22-222533.jpeg","url":"https:\/\/thehomeground.asia\/wp-content\/uploads\/photo_2021-07-22-222533.jpeg","width":640,"height":640}},"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/thehomeground.asia\/wp-content\/uploads\/Feature-Image-Template-2022-06-30T135856.525-1.jpg","url":"https:\/\/thehomeground.asia\/wp-content\/uploads\/Feature-Image-Template-2022-06-30T135856.525-1.jpg","height":900,"width":1600},"url":"https:\/\/thehomeground.asia\/destinations\/singapore\/former-olympian-and-maker-of-track-stars-m-harichandra-dies\/","video":{"@context":"http:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"VideoObject","@id":"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=3Gt-HEWATho#VideoObject","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=3Gt-HEWATho","name":"C. Kunalan: Gratefulness to my Coaches (Full Episode)","description":"C. Kunalan is a legend of the Singapore Sport, but it would not have been the case if it was not for the coaches in his life. Being an educator himself, he sees parallels between those who teach and coach \u2013 a common thread of being responsible to the lives of the athletes under their watch. It is a purpose that he knows all to well, and is grateful for.\n\nThis episode has been publicly made available in full for all!\n\nOther episodes can be watched in full on SportSG-ED: https:\/\/www.sportsync.sg\/\n\nLogin instructions to SportSG-ED can be found here: https:\/\/go.gov.sg\/gflseries","thumbnailUrl":["https:\/\/i.ytimg.com\/vi\/3Gt-HEWATho\/default.jpg","https:\/\/i.ytimg.com\/vi\/3Gt-HEWATho\/mqdefault.jpg","https:\/\/i.ytimg.com\/vi\/3Gt-HEWATho\/hqdefault.jpg","https:\/\/i.ytimg.com\/vi\/3Gt-HEWATho\/sddefault.jpg","https:\/\/i.ytimg.com\/vi\/3Gt-HEWATho\/maxresdefault.jpg"],"uploadDate":"2021-10-29T02:30:29+00:00","duration":"PT20M26S","embedUrl":"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/3Gt-HEWATho","publisher":{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/channel\/UC6S-f5ZwoXcGs_TDbimGd5g#Organization","url":"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/channel\/UC6S-f5ZwoXcGs_TDbimGd5g","name":"CoachSG Official","description":"CoachSG aims to enhance and support the professional development of coaches, and raise the profile of coaching as a profession.","logo":{"url":"https:\/\/yt3.ggpht.com\/ytc\/AIdro_lDN9CjkBM1SWRwT9rChH7u29p1O29AoZayEBeQUbIEKQ=s800-c-k-c0x00ffffff-no-rj","width":800,"height":800,"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=3Gt-HEWATho#VideoObject_publisher_logo_ImageObject"}},"potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","@id":"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=3Gt-HEWATho#VideoObject_potentialAction","target":"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=3Gt-HEWATho&t={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"},"interactionStatistic":[[{"@type":"InteractionCounter","@id":"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=3Gt-HEWATho#VideoObject_interactionStatistic_WatchAction","interactionType":{"@type":"WatchAction"},"userInteractionCount":1759}],{"@type":"InteractionCounter","@id":"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=3Gt-HEWATho#VideoObject_interactionStatistic_LikeAction","interactionType":{"@type":"LikeAction"},"userInteractionCount":35}]},"commentCount":"1","comment":[{"@type":"Comment","@id":"https:\/\/thehomeground.asia\/destinations\/singapore\/former-olympian-and-maker-of-track-stars-m-harichandra-dies\/#Comment1","dateCreated":"2026-08-02 20:28:56","description":"I don't think the title of your article matches the content lol. Just kidding, mainly because I had some doubts after reading the article.","author":{"@type":"Person","name":"Cod Binance","url":"https:\/\/www.binance.bh\/en-AE\/register?ref=HX1JLA6Z"}}],"about":["Local","People","Short Read","Singapore"],"wordCount":705,"keywords":["Asian Games","C Kunalan","M Harichandra","Melbourne","MOA","Noraseela Mohd Khalid","Olympics","Quah Kim Tiong","Sea Games","SEAP Games","Serjit Singh","SMTFA","SP Kannu","Tan Kim Seng"],"articleBody":"He represented Malaysia as a 800m runner at the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne before coming to Singapore to work as a Prisons officer.But M Harichandra never left his love to run. He took a group of young athletes under his wing and turned them into track stars including Serjit Singh, whose 46-year-old long standing 1500m boys record was rewritten only in 2016.Harichandra, who was popularly known by track and field athletes as Hari, finished his own race on 29 June, 2022. He was 92.Track and field was in his bloodAn undated photo of Mr M Harichandra competing in his pet event. (Photo source: Anita Thomas\/Facebook)Born in Port Dickson, Malaysia in 1930, Mr Harichandra once told the media he was born into a family of runners. He owed his love for athletics to his late father M Vasagam, a 1920s athletic champion in Malaysia and who founded the Malaysian athletics and Olympic associations in 1955.His younger brother M Jegathesan won the 100m and 200m gold at the 1962 Jakarta Asian Games and was named the fastest man in Asia.Mr Harichandra was working and preparing to compete at the 1958 Asian Games in Tokyo but he pulled muscle during training and he finally stopped participating in international games in 1959.Mr Harichanda receiving his certificate and pin from the president of MOA, Olympian and former athlete Noraseela Mohd Khalid. (Photo source: The Star)In 2019 \u2013 63 years after his performance at the 1956 Olympics \u2013 that the Malaysia Olympians Association (MOA) finally recognised Mr Harichandra for his services at the Games.From athlete to maker of track starsMr Harichandra\u2019s big break as coach came when he was selected as the national coach for the 1973 SEAP Games in Singapore. He took several under his wing to train on the track and they include Serjit Singh, Quah Kim Tiong, SP Kannu and Tan Kim Seng.In a YouTube clip titled C Kunalan: Grateful to my coaches, the retired sprinter and Olympian said, \u201cWhen we were preparing for the games in 1973, he was in charge of the 400m and 800m runners. We were at the track at 6am and he would be there before us.\u201dMr Kunalan also remembered Mr Harichandra as having brought in Singapore\u2019s top 800m runner Serjit Singh then. \u201cHe would let him stay at his house so that he could look after him and ensure his top performance,\u201d he added.Mr Harichandra receiving his award in 2013 from Professor Ho Peng Kee, former Senior Minister of State in the Ministry of Law and the Ministry of Home Affairs. (Photo source: Anita Thomas\/Facebook)For his work with athletes, Mr Harichandra was given the Lifetime Achievement Award in 2013 by the Singapore AthleticAssociation (SAA) for his invaluable contribution to track and field in Singapore and Asia.Competing as a mature athleteMr Harichandra never retired from competition. He became the first Singaporean to run in the first edition of the World Masters Athletic Championship in Toronto, Canada in 1975. He ran the 400m race and won a silver medal.\u00a0With this victory, he wanted to create a platform for senior athletes to keep fit and continue running. His dream was realised with the formation of Singapore Masters Athletics Association (SAVA) in 1978 and said it was probably his greatest achievement in his sporting life as it was certainly not an easy task to overcome all the challenges and set up an association.Speaking to TheHomeGround Asia, President of Singapore Masters Track and Field Association (SMTFA) Jason Wong says, \u201cWe are grateful to Harichandra for linking masters athletics in Singapore with the World and Asian Masters athletics community.\u201dIn a post on her Facebook account, daughter Anita Thomas writes, \u201cHe lived life to the fullest on his terms, unapologetically so. He taught us about the world, took us on adventures and introduced us to different cultures. He always taught us to meet people \u2018where they are\u2019. … He didn\u2019t care to impress anyone, he just did. As accomplished as he was, he remained humble about his achievements and committed to serving and helping others.\u201dMr Harichandra leaves behind his wife, son, daughter, their spouses and three grandchildren.Join the conversations on TheHomeGround Asia\u2019s Facebook and Instagram, and get the latest updates via Telegram."},{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Destinations","item":"https:\/\/thehomeground.asia\/destinations\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Singapore","item":"https:\/\/thehomeground.asia\/destinations\/\/singapore\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Former Olympian and maker of track stars M Harichandra dies","item":"https:\/\/thehomeground.asia\/destinations\/singapore\/former-olympian-and-maker-of-track-stars-m-harichandra-dies\/#breadcrumbitem"}]}]