Fiery Sports Blogger Who Wrote Fearlessly

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Satwant Singh Dhaliwal gained national prominence after guiding Yayasan Negeri Sembilan to hockey glory. (Facebook pic)PETALING JAYA: Hard-hitting sports blogger Satwant Singh Dhaliwal, who died today, had no mercy for miscreants lousing up Malaysian sport.
He was a foe to those he believed to be taking sports down; he knew no demigods.
Satwant was a one-man army who had no heroes but to those who read his stuff, he was one.
The writings of the former journalist and sports administrator in his unforgiving blog could be called fiery and always fearless.
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He had gripes about all who he perceived as being behind injustice in Malaysian sport; he made some enemies, while winning over those he championed.
In his final post, Satwant blasted: “The truth never wins in this great nation of ours. It’s those who are corrupt and abusive who win.”
Sports leaders such as the late Sultan Azlan Shah, who was Malaysian Hockey Federation president, liked to hear what Satwant Singh had to say. (Facebook pic)While his combativeness was deemed by some sports leaders as arrogance and a show of one upmanship, others genuinely sought his views.
Satwant’s bluntness in sports writing, his flogging of incompetence, and his knack for breaking stories will be missed.
He collapsed while having breakfast at about 7am near his house and died on the way to Tampin Hospital. He would have turned 60 on Oct 31.
His brother Jasbir said Satwant had been suffering from poor health in recent months.
Satwant, certified as a disabled person with visual impairment, had been on dialysis for the past seven years.
He often spoke about the high cost of dialysis and, to raise money for dialysis centres, had planned a match between badminton greats Lin Dan of China and Malaysian Lee Chong Wei.
Even as his health deteriorated, a jobless Satwant saw the need to expose sinners in sports, of duty to be done.
Service to the nation however began to fade due to his failing vision.
In paying tribute to Satwant, former director-general of the national sports council (NSC) Ramlan Aziz said: “He was a fearless blogger, journalist, selfless and untiring hero for hockey and national sports.
“Missed you when you retreated away from a world that often did not quite understand nor deserve you.”
Satwant was a sports officer with NSC’s international preparations division from 1996-98, being responsible for hockey, squash, badminton and softball.
YNS team manager Satwant Singh (in turban back row) and coach Stephen Van Huizen (extreme left) with the players who won the Malaysian hockey league treble in 1996. (Facebook pic)He was then already known as manager of the Yayasan Negeri Sembilan (YNS) team that clinched the Malaysian hockey league treble in 1996.
A year earlier, he managed the YNS junior team that won the double. Both the teams produced players for the national team.
Satwant is credited with the idea of providing educational as well as employment opportunities to players like S Kuhan, Chua Boon Huat, M Kaliswaran, Nor Azlan Bakar, Mohd Nasihin Nubil and Suhaimi Ibrahim, all of whom went on to don national colours.
Stephen Van Huizen, who coached both the victorious YNS senior and junior teams, said Satwant was “very knowledgeable, dedicated and passionate about hockey”.
He said while Satwant was outspoken and strong in his views, he displayed a soft side by going out of the way to help players and officials in need.
Former Malaysian hockey captain Mirnawan Nawawi said Satwant played a key role in the development of the sport in the country, including bringing in imports to play for YNS in the Malaysia hockey league.
Mirnawan was in the YNS team that had two foreign players and swept the treble without dropping any points.
“He was a good-hearted person and dedicated his life to sports, especially to hockey,” said Mirnawan, manager of the national team.
Former national defender Maninderjit Singh, who knew Satwant from the YNS days, said: “We lost a gem in Malaysian sports. He was a great sportswriter and administrator and his knowledge of sports was a class above all.”
Satwant’s experience in sports was enhanced by his positions as executive secretary of the sports advisory panel, special officer to the minister of youth and sports and head of unit for Doha 2006 special project from 2004-05.
He then joined the FA of Malaysia for a year as head of corporate communications, marketing, research and development unit.
His involvement in top flight football also saw him running UPB-MyTeam FC and a short marketing stint with Malaysian Super League Sdn Bhd.
The funeral is on Saturday, with prayers from 11am-1pm at 103, Jalan Seremban, Tampin before the cremation at Jasin Eternal Memorial Park. - FMT

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