Jegathesan was billed as the “fastest man in Asia” after winning three gold medals (for the 100m, 200m and 4x100m relay) in the Bangkok Asian Games that year. It was only four years earlier that he had made history as the first Asian Games gold medallist in athletics for Malaysia after winning the 200m title in Jakarta. Jegathesan also competed in three consecutive Olympic Games: Rome (1960), Tokyo (1964) and Mexico (1968). “Everyone was expecting him to win the 200m and 400m easily when he came to Jakarta for the Asian Games. Now 77, Jegathesan completed a full circle in 2004 when the Olympic Games returned to Athens, the home of the modern Olympics.

Source: The Star July 24, 2021 00:00 UTC