Sports
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| Summa
Navaratnam - eighty years on the legend continues
Born on 21st May, 1925 in the village of Araly North in Vaddukodai, Summa became an octogenarian yesterday. His 80-year life span is studded with many unique achievements in the field of sports where he not only donned the Ceylon rugby jersey, but also represented the country in athletics. With a glint in his eye he recalls his first significant achievement when, as a nine-year old at The Training College (formerly Royal Primary School), he won the lime and spoon race over a distance of 25 yards. He says, "this is what propelled me into athletics" and has never looked back since. He first major sporting achievement was as a boxer. Representing Royal College at the Stubbs Shield meet of 1939, he successfully fought his way through the preliminary rounds of the Bantam Weight Class, only to lose in the final. In doing so he qualified for and received Royal College boxing colours. A promising athlete and rugby player, he won his college colours in both sports. He had the honour of leading the Royal College rugby team at the second leg game of the Royal-Trinity encounter in 1943, as his captain Larry Foenander could not play due to injury. Summa led the side admirably. Towards the dying stages of the game Royal were being led 0-3. Suddenly, Summa intercepted a pass and sped for over 60 yards beating the Trinity defence with sheer pace, to plant a sensational try. With the conversion kicked correctly, Royal had a great 5-3 win. During this time, Summa was also burning the tracks with some blistering runs for Royal College at the Public Schools Athletic meets. In his pet sprint events of the 100 and 220 yards, he brushed aside all opposition. In the Public Schools meet of 1943, Summa won the 220 and 440-yard events with some excellent timings. He was also a key member of the 4 x 110 yards winning relay quartet, anchoring the team. This meet saw young Summa's stature and his team-mates' respect for their colleague grow. With three events including the short relay under his belt, he was down to run in the 100-yard final for which he had already qualified and which was scheduled just before the final event of the meet - the 4 x 440 yards relay. He was in a dilemma as, if he did run the 100 yards and soon thereafter the relay, there was hardly any recovery time between the events. Would this impede his performance in the relay? Also, if he won the 100 yard event, which was a foregone conclusion and did not win the relay, Royal College would drop a few points resulting in the school not only losing out on the Tarbat Cup for the senior championship, but also the Jefferson Bowl for the relays. So Summa did what he thought was best. Making a supreme sacrifice, he withdrew from his pet event the 100 yards and decided to run only in the relay. Royal won the relay in great style with Summa doing a fantastic lap, ensuring the school won both the Tarbat and Jefferson trophies. This selfless act epitomises the character and sportsmanship of this wonderful young man - school before self, team before individual glory! A characteristic so rare among sportsmen in today's world. He continued his athletics career in the national arena where he had left off from school. After just missing out in making the team for the 1948 London Olympic Games which he claims was due to "nepotism", he was selected for the then Ceylon team to the 1950 Commonwealth and Empire Games in Auckland, New Zealand as a member of the short relay quartet which included 1948 Olympic Games Silver Medalist Duncan White, Oscar Wijesinghe and John de Saram. In 1953, he was down to run in the 100-metre event of the Ceylon AAA Nationals with Asian Record holder, Lavy Pinto of India and a host of other local athletes. He won his heat very comfortably and made a dash for the CH&FC grounds where he played for the national team in a rugby international against the visiting Australian Colts team. During this game he was concussed. Although still suffering from the effects of the previous day's concussion, in a rare show of guts and determination, he defied doctor's advice and was at the mark taking starter's orders in the 100-metre final the following day. This is how a local newsman described this fantastic race - "Shoulder to shoulder, stride to stride, toe to toe the two thoroughbreds, Pinto and Navaratnam ran the race of their lives and at the tape, it was a photo-finish. Though Pinto was declared the winner, both runners had the identical timing of 11 seconds". "Cometh the hour, cometh the man". In 1953, participating at the Indian States Olympic meet in Madras in the glamorous 100-metre event alongside India's best, he covered the distance in the incredible time of 10.4 seconds, which eclipsed the Indian and Asian records, for which performance he was dubbed "Asia's Fastest Human". How this compares with the timings of the 100-metre event at the Olympic Games of that era surely is a matter of interest. In the 1948 London Olympic Games, American Harrison Dillard won the gold medal returning a time of 10.3 seconds, while in the 1952 Games in Helsinki Lindy Remigino of the USA struck gold in a time of 10.4 seconds. In the 1956 Olympics at Melbourne, Robert Morrow also of the USA won the event in 10.5 seconds! All these performances were on cinder tracks, which immensely aided in raising the standards of the athletes. And in those days, our local athletes ran only on grass tracks! Not for them the luxury of running on these performance enhancing special tracks. Imagine the results and glory the likes of Summa Navaratnam would have brought the country had these facilities been available then? His brilliance as a rugby player needs little mention. Suffice it to say that as wing three quarter, he was one of the speediest, elusive and most charismatic of his time. After his school rugby career, he turned out for his club CR & FC with distinction for 11 years from 1946 to 1956. In 1954 and 1955 he captained his club side and in both years led them to the Clifford Cup - the blue riband of club rugby. He also represented the country against many foreign teams and in 1954, he was honoured being appointed captain of the All Ceylon team that figured in the All India Tournament that year. Besides his noteworthy achievements, he also goes into the record books as the only coach to be injured on the field without playing. This happened about 5 weeks ago in a freak accident. He was on the Royal rugby ground that evening, conducting a skills drill for the First XV team when a player who was tackled came crashing on to Summa, felling him. The impact of the player falling on Summa's leg had caused a hairline fracture of the knee and he had to be put in a plaster cast. After some time at home, he was feeling quiet bored. It was not long before he made his way back to the rugby grounds in a wheel chair to train the junior teams. With the aid of a pair of binoculars and a megaphone, he is still seen blurting out instructions to the bewilderment of the young players. A man of impeccable character and integrity to whom right is might, his judgement on any issue was as flawless as the man himself. This innate quality made Summa rich in stature. He climbed the ladder of success the hard way and his wonderful sporting achievements were the result of solid work, dedication, a sense of selfless sacrifice and relentless commitment to training. Truly a pathway to stardom, which he did not aspire to. A role model for today's generation, following his creed will surely enrich the lives of any aspiring sportsman. Summa recalls with a sense of great pride and emotion, the advice his father gave the Navaratnam children after submitting his resignation from the Ceylon Civil Service in 1951, on not seeing eye to eye with the then Prime Minister of the country. "The moment you become subservient to your job, you are a slave to your employer". Golden words of wisdom, which young Summa imbibed and which he maintains has stood him in good stead to this day. In a glowing tribute to this great guru, coach and mentor, the captain of the record-breaking 1976 Royal College rugby team, in a message to Summa on his 80th birthday states: I was happy to note your 80th Birthday falls on 21st May, 2005. As Captain of the 1976 Royal Rugby team, I take this opportunity to thank you for your dedicated coaching of our team. With Best wishes. |
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