SEA Games: Sprint legend Kunalan burnt his hand running with Games torch in 1973
To celebrate the Games, ST asked some of Singapore’s finest athletes to reflect on their most memorable moments. In the last of a five-part series, sprint legend C. Kunalan shares his experience lighting the Games cauldron at the 1973 SEA Games at home.
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Former national sprinter C. Kunalan recalls when he was the torch bearer at the 1973 SEA Games, hosted by Singapore.
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There are all manner of champions in our midst.
The white-haired, bespectacled lady you perhaps walked by in the mall yesterday has 39 SEA Games gold medals. One year in Myanmar, swimmer Patrician Chan arrived to compete and found a pool with algae in it. No problem. She had come to do her best and would negotiate whatever came her way.
The elderly gentleman sitting at a kopitiam was once the fastest man in South-east Asia in the 100m. At the 1973 SEA Games held here, C. Kunalan braved the strong winds to light the cauldron at the National Stadium, only to discover later that his hand had been burnt while running with the torch.
Even as the 31st SEA Games have begun in Hanoi and Singaporeans look forward, there is also a joy in looking back. These Games are a tradition and today's modern heroes walk down the paths laid down by previous champions.
And so to celebrate the Games, we asked a section of Singapore's finest athletes to reflect on their most memorable moments. Every tale matters because each one is a thread in the tapestry of Singapore sport.
