Sports-themed hotel gets World Cup makeover

KUALA LUMPUR: Considered a time capsule for the world's most popular single-sport tournament, the  uniquely-styled Olympic Sports Hotel here exhibits a wide array of World Cup memorabilia dating back to the  early 1960s, a first for any hotel in the country.

The hotel, located at Wisma OCM along Jalan Hang Jebat, displays priceless items such as autographed jerseys from the 1994 German World Cup squad and decorated English goalkeeper Ray Clemence.
Ow Soon Kooi, who took over as the hotel's director last year, said the memorabilia reflected the local passion for the World Cup.

"The idea to do this came from a friend three months ago. We decided to decorate the hotel in conjunction with the upcoming World Cup in South Africa," he said.
"As a sports-themed hotel, we have to live up to our name. And so, we have on display some of the rarest World Cup collector's items to give our guests a unique atmosphere."
Ow, himself a national hockey legend, said the hotel lobby acts as a hall-of-fame for some of the greatest football players.

Upon entering the lobby, one will be greeted by posters of Diego Maradona's 1986 "hand of God" goal, and World Cup posters.

"These exhibits are loaned to us by their owners. We had difficulty tracking them down, let alone get the respective owners' permission to exhibit them here," said Ow.

"The most priceless item here are the framed autographed photos of Brazilian legend Pele, which I purchased myself."

Next to the hotel's reception area are a number of glass showcases exhibiting items such as German goalkeeper Oliver Kahn's gloves from the 1994 World Cup, as well as the boots of Franz Beckenbauer, who won the World Cup as captain (1974) and coach (1990).

"The concept of our hotel is not only to cater to athletes, but the general public and tourists as well," said Ow.
"Among our guests over the years have been national football team members, officials from the Asian Youth Volleyball tournament as well as foreign media representatives covering the recent Thomas Cup and Uber Cup Finals."

Ow said he will continue to exhibit sports memorabilia as well as repay his debt to the country by hanging up pictures of Malaysian sports legends.

"Once the World Cup football fever has cooled down, I plan to put up pictures of our nation's greatest sportsmen. For athletes, the passion for sports never dies. It lives on and we will always be there for the love of the game."

The Straits Times Thomas Cup Souvenir

The 2010 Thomas Cup and Uber Cup finals ended on 16th May 2010, with the men's team of China and the women's team of Korea winning the Thomas Cup and Uber Cup respectively. Malaysia's Thomas Cup team lost the semi-final against China, while the women's Uber Cup team was defeated by Indonesian team in the quarter-final.

51 years earlier, the 1st Thomas Cup Final was played on February 25th and 26th 1949 at Preston, England, between Malaya and Denmark, which Malaya won by 8 matches to 1.

Thanks to Mr. Chris Syer, a member of the OCM Media Committee, OCM obtained a copy of "The Straits Times Thomas Cup Souvenir - An illustrated record of the visit of the successful Malayan Badminton Team to Europe in 1948/49". OCM believes that the Mr. Chris Syer's copy is one of a few copies of the souvenir left in Malaysia.

OCM has produced a soft-copy of the souvenir which is posted in the OCM Website for the public to read and view.

Download: The STRAITS TIMES THOMAS CUP Souvenir - Malayan Badminton Team 1948-49


The STRAITS TIMES THOMAS CUP Souvenir - Malayan Badminton Team 1948-49 Cover Page

Visit of participants of TAFISA Certified Leadership Course in Sport for All to the OCM Museum and Hall of Fame

On the evening of 8th May 2010, the participants of the Certified Leadership course in Sport for All organized a Farewell Dinner at Level 2C, Wisma OCM, Kuala Lumpur. Before the start of the Dinner, the participants of the Certified Leadership course in Sport for All, paid a visit to OCM Museum and Hall of Fame. The participants had an enjoyable time there, taking photographs.

The OCM Museum and Hall of Fame was established in December 2004, on the completion of Phase II of Wisma OCM. It is located on Level 2B in an area of about 8,000 sq. ft. The OCM Museum and Hall of Fame received a grant from NOC Legacy of Olympic Solidarity for its establishment.


Four participants of the Certified Leadership Course in Sport for All, from left, Mr. Nay Phonna (Cambodia), Mr. Masanori Tamazawa (Japan), Ms. Sun Jin-Kim and Ms. Claire Son (Korea)


Two participants of the Certified Leadership Course in the OCM Hall of Fame, Mr. Behzad Alemi (left) and Mr. Omidali Daftari, both from Iran


Group photograph of the participants in the OCM Museum and Hall of Fame.


Mr Omidali Daftari (Iran) in front of the IOC Trophy winners


Some participants: from left, Madam Kusum Bhardwaj, Mrs. Mrignaini Khullar, Dr. Rakesh Khullar (all India), Mr. Omidali Daftari and Mr. Behzad Alemi (both Iran)


Two participants in front of the OCM Hall of Fame, from left, Dr. Henry Codero Daut of Philippines (lecturer) and Mr. Kho Chin Hong of the Ministry of Youth and Sports Malaysia.


Mr. Behzad Alemi (Iran) in front of the IOC Trophy winners.

King Ghaz Reigned Over Golden Age In Sports

 

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 25 (Bernama) -- Malaysia's prowess in track and field was at its height under Tun Ghazali Shafie when he led the Malaysian Amateur Athletics Union (MAAU) for 26 years from 1962.

It was the golden era especially for the women athletes, namely Marina Chin, V. Angamah, Saik Oik Cum and Zaiton Othman, who dazzled on the track with their gutsy spirit and winning performances.

King Ghaz, as he was fondly referred to, also presided over the likes of "flying doctor" M. Jegathesan, who won in the 1966 Asiad in Bangkok, Ishtiaq Mobarak, who qualified for the semifinals of the 1976 Montreal Olympics, Rabuan Pit, who won the Asian sprint gold in 1982 in New Delhi, and B. Rajkumar, who captured the 1986 Asian championships 800m gold in record-shattering style.

Inevitably, Ghazali's death yesterday at the age of 88 was mourned in sports circles.

His love for sports never waned, according to Datuk A. Vaithilingam, one of the longest-serving athletics officials now retired.

The infighting within the MAAU that led to the suspension of the national association by the Sports Commissioner in 2002 pained Ghazali so much so that he called Vaithilingam.

"Vaithi, can we both do something to clear the mess in MAAU now?" Ghazali asked Vaithilingam.

"At that time, he had already left the MAAU for 14 years but he was still concerned. He had full control, discipline, efficiency and mutual respect with democracy as his style," Vaithilingam said.

Ghazali launched a five-year development plan for athletics in 1967 and, by 1972, every state in Malaysia had qualified coaches and officials and all-weather tracks were constructed in most states.

"Those were wonderful years. His interest in the welfare of athletes was always inspiring. During his tenure, Malaysia had a team of golden girls in Angamah, Oik Cum, Marina and Zaiton and we also had Kamaruddin Mydin and Nashatar Singh," Vaithilingam said.

Oik Cum, the lanky young athlete who stunned the 1978 Bangkok Asian Games for the 400m gold medal, has fond memories.

"He was a good leader and very caring," said Oik Cum, who works with a bank here.

Jegathesan, now deputy president of the Olympic Council of Malaysia, said Malaysian athletics had plenty to thank Ghazali for.

"During that time, athletes were amateurs and officials were volunteers. Sometimes, he forked out his own money to help us because there was no National Sports Council then.

"The MAAU really depended on his connections and, under King Ghaz, it was truly the golden years," Jegathesan said.

-- BERNAMA

Ghazali Shafie meninggal dunia

GHAZALI (dua dari kanan) bersama Tun Mahathir dan Tun Musa Hitam bersama bekas Presiden Indonesia, Suharto dalam satu pertemuan di Kuala Lumpur pada tahun 1983.

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KUALA LUMPUR - Bekas Menteri Dalam Negeri, Tun Ghazali Shafie, 88, meninggal dunia akibat sakit tua di kediamannya di Subang Jaya dekat sini kira-kira 7.45 malam tadi.
Ghazali yang dilahirkan di Kuala Lipis, Pahang pada 22 Mac 1922 meninggalkan dua orang anak lelaki iaitu Bachtiaer, 53, dan Sheriffudin, 47.
Isteri beliau Toh Puan Khatijah Abdul Majid telah meninggal dunia pada April 2008.
Ghazali merupakan ahli politik pada era Perdana Menteri pertama, Tunku Abdul Rahman hinggalah era Perdana Menteri keempat, Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad iaitu dari 1970-1984.
Beliau memainkan peranan penting dalam pembentukan Malaysia apabila menjadi penasihat tetap Suruhanjaya Cobbold bagi meninjau pendapat rakyat Sabah dan Sarawak untuk menyertai Malaysia.

Ro Bin among five inducted into OCM Hall of Fame

PETALING JAYA: Former Asian Games gold medallists Ho Ro Bin and Lim Keng Liat are among five outstanding former athletes and officials who will be inducted into the Olympic Council of Malaysia (OCM) Hall of Fame.

Ro Bin is the most successful Malaysian wushu athlete to date. He was the country’s first gold medal in the sport at the 2002 Busan Asiad. He also emerged as the world champion twice – in 1999 and 2005.
In the SEA Games between 1999 and 2005, Ro Bin won a total of three gold medals before retiring from competition in 2006 to become a coach.

Keng Liat is the most outstanding Malaysian swimmer and he is only one to have won an Asian Games gold medal in the sport — in Bangkok in 1998.

2009 IOC Trophy ‘Sport and the Fight against Doping’

"The Olympic Council of Malaysia selected Datuk Dr. M. Jegathesan, to be the recipient of the 2009 IOC Trophy ‘Sport and the Fight against Doping’. The Trophy will be presented at the 17th OCM Annual Dinner on 16th January 2010.

Datuk Dr. M. Jegathesan is the Deputy President of the Olympic Council of Malaysia (OCM) since 2002 and has been in the forefront of the fight against doping since he became a member of the Sports Medicine Committee of the OCM in the 80’s. He is the present Chairman of the Medical Committee of OCM and adviser to the Medical Committee of the SEA Games Federation. Since 2004, he is the Honorary Medical Adviser of the Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF), the Chairman of the Medical Commission of the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) since 2007 and a member of the IOC Medical Commission since 2007.


Being a medical doctor himself and an Olympian in the 1960, 1964 and 1968 Olympic Games and the gold medalists in the 100m in Track and Field in the 1962 and the 100m, 200m and 4 X 100m Relay in the 1966 Asian Games, Datuk Dr. M. Jegathesan has been very conscious of the need to fight against doping in sport. His two prong strategies in the fight against doping are testing and education. He has diligently carried out his duties and responsibilities as a volunteer in sports medicine, contributing his time, experience and knowledge to the OCM, OCA, CGF and the IOC for over twenty years."