His words came like gusts as he asked his daughter, Mahaletchumy, if he had anything to eat.

“He cannot remember what happened five minutes ago or when he last ate but remembers the past better,” said Mahaletchumy.

Sabapathy is living with dementia of the Alzheimer type, facing the increasing challenges of memory loss and is no longer safe alone.

The condition is characterised by loss of memory and thinking abilities that are severe enough to interfere with everyday life.

Mahaletchumy said it has got to a point where his short-term memories quickly vanish, forcing family members to keep a close watch on him always.

Sabapathy celebrated his 74th birthday on Nov 30 in Seremban, telling this writer, “I am fit as a fiddle and can still run the 400m, so give me the coverage like you used to.”

The next moment, the man who represented Malaysia at the 1972 Munich Olympics in the 4x100m and 4x400m relays, got upset saying youngsters did not show any interest in track and field.

He briefly referred to his Falcon Athletic Club, a grassroots development initiative which he set up in 2010 to coach young talents for free in Lobak, Seremban.

Then, he let out a hearty laugh, recalling the morning of his marriage to Maliga in 1979 when this writer drove him to the temple for the wedding ceremony.

Soon, the father of three daughters became emotional saying riding his motorcycle was dangerous and “I hope there will not come a time when I do not even know where I live”.

In spite of the holes in his mind that dementia has torn, he yearns to meet old friends. “How is Asir Victor?” he asks and is told, “Your 4x400m running mate passed away in May.” Minutes later, he is asking the same question again.

Sabapathy is struggling to live the life when he soared and sped like a “falcon”, a moniker given to him by the late national hurdler, Ishtiaq Mubarak, with whom he grew up in Seremban.

Maliga said her husband, who was diagnosed with dementia about three years ago, spends all his time at home, sometimes thumbing through the newspaper and at other times finding the motion on the television screen hard to follow.

She said old Tamil songs seem to make him happy while his craving for sweet food “like a kid” has increased.

“It hurts to see him in this condition but we want him to be safe. We can’t bear to see him unhappy and to have no recollection of our conversations,” she said.

Maliga hopes that more people will help those suffering from dementia after reading about her husband’s debilitating condition.

Dementia is an umbrella term for a group of conditions that damage the brain and there are over 260,000 people with dementia in Malaysia.

Sabapathy’s journey from his mother’s death when he was a year-old baby to his only Olympics in 1972 at Munich has the spirit of the falcon – victory, dominance, leadership and superiority.

After his mother died, he lived with the family of Mubarak Ahmad for whom his father worked as a caretaker.

Mubarak, the father of Ishtiaq, was a senior police officer, sprinter and former president of the Federation of Malaysia Amateur Athletics Union (FMAAU), the forerunner of MAAU and now Malaysian Athletics Federation (MAF).

He introduced Sabapathy to high-level athletics after he completed his Form Five at St Paul’s Institution where he was a champion 100m, 200m and 400m runner.

Sabapathy joined the Jets Athletics Club in Kuala Lumpur and trained with Ishtiaq. Soon, he was a star 100m, 200m, 400m, 4x100m and 4x400m runner, representing Selangor and Malaysia.

The former employee of Lembaga Letrik Negara (now Tenaga Nasional) made his debut for the nation as a reserve in the 4x400m relay at the 1970 Bangkok Asian Games where Malaysia won the bronze medal through Asir Victor, Hassan Osman, T Krishnan and K Jayabalan in 3:13.0.

A year later at the SEAP Games (now SEA Games) in Kuala Lumpur, he had the misfortune of pulling a muscle in the 100m and had to withdraw from the relays.

Before the Munich Olympics, Sabapathy and Ishtiaq trained in the US under Robert Keyser “Bob” Schul, the 5000m champion at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics.

He also trained in then West Germany, taking gold in the 4x400m relay at the Stuttgart Allcomers meet and bronze in the same event at the Asia vs Europe meeting in Dusseldorf.

At the Olympics, the 4x400m relay team of Sabapathy, PLBS Peyadesa, Hassan Osman and T Krishnan finished sixth in the heats clocking 3:13.51.

At the 1973 SEAP Games in Singapore, he won a gold medal in the 4x400m relay, silver behind Thai legend Anat Ratanapol (200m) and bronze (4x100m relay). Two years later in Bangkok, he took two bronze medals in the 4x400m and 4×200 relays.

After his retirement, he was a coach with the then United Asian Bank (UAB), Federal Territory Amateur Athletics Association, Selangor Sports Council and National Sports Council between 1985 and 2008.

For the man who served the country and worked as an executive with the national athletes welfare foundation (Yakeb) from 2009 until 2016, the road ahead will be hard, painful and demanding, both for him and his family.

For now, his family hopes for a moment of joy with him, a moment of closeness with the person who told them stories and made them laugh, a moment when everyone is connected.