Khalil Hashim, 73, who played with him for seven years in Prisons FC, culminating in three FAM Cup wins in the early 1970s, remembers Krishnasamy fondly.
“Samy was the fittest player we have ever had. We trained at the Polo Grounds together. And oh my, was he fast,” Khalil recalls at his wake at a funeral parlour in Paya Terubong here today.
“We called him ‘The Machine’, busting through anything that came our way.”
Khalil said he last met his fellow Prisons retiree at his nursing home in Gelugor two weeks ago.
“We were very close, staying at the same Prisons quarters in Gaol Road. Two weeks ago, when I dropped by, he seemed happy, sitting with his row of residents on a lazy chair. I did not expect him to go so quickly,” he said.
Khalil and a few Penang-based footballers paid their last respects, while those from afar such as the Olympic Council of Malaysia and other well-wishers sent wreaths.
Krishnasamy died at the Penang Hospital at 8.29 last night following a heart complication preceded by breathing issues for the past few months. The 72-year-old leaves behind wife S Raza, 72, two children and four grandchildren, aged 11 to 25.
The retired Prisons’ sergeant-major suffered from diabetes and had his left leg amputated from his knee down. He had been at a nursing home for the past two years, with deteriorating eyesight and hearing.
Krishnasamy was part of a Malaysian football team that qualified for the Munich Olympics in 1972. His team beat the US 3-0 back then.
Krishnasamy’s son Thanaselan, 44, said that two months ago, his father told the family that he “would not be around for long”.
“My father started talking this way when he had breathing difficulties. We had been in and out of hospital many times,” he said.
“Things improved. But last Wednesday, his condition worsened. Doctors said he had heart complications.”
He said his father had become depressed after his amputation and when a prosthesis was made available for him, doctors said he would be unable to walk due to muscle loss. “That sunk him further.”
Recalling his younger days, Thanaselan said his late father discouraged him and his elder sister Kassturi, 45, from playing football.
“Our father told us to focus on our studies since he never got a chance to complete secondary education,” he said.
Kassturi said she loved playing football, but never had a chance to go professional like her dad. “Back then, it was hard for women to play football.”
Krishnasamy began his football career with the Penang Indian Association and Waterfall Rangers before representing the state in the Burnley Cup where he was spotted by Prisons’ coach Jalil Che Din.
He was selected for Perak while playing for Prisons in the Taiping League.
After his football career, Krishnasamy became a technical official with the Penang Amateur Athletic Association for many years.
Krishnasamy was cremated at the Batu Lanchang Crematorium at 2pm today.