Genda, who won the bronze medal at the 1977 Kuala Lumpur SEAP Games while nursing a serious injury, wanted to ensure the honours in the hammer throw stayed with his family.
His eldest son, Semret, who was a 22-year-old 400m runner and had never thrown the iron ball, answered the call.
Semret outdid his father’s feats by breaking his national record and winning the gold medal at the 1985 and 1989 SEA Games. He bagged silver medals at three other editions.
But Genda’s achievement in competing at the top level in hammer, discus and shot put until the age of 55 is unrivalled by any athlete in Malaysia.
Genda, who was a great mentor to his son, died aged 89 in 2011. Semret breathed his last yesterday at his home in Sungai Buloh at the age of 66.
Semret’s son, Amarraj, said his father died in the presence of his family and that the cause of death was unknown.
Semret’s rise in hammer, fuelled by his determination to keep his father’s legacy alive, has all the virtues of selflessness, perseverance and heroism.
At the Australian Spring Championships in Perth in 1981, he set a Malaysian record of 50.5m to better his father’s mark and defeated Australian Matt Barber, the defending champion.
Writing a first-person account in mysportsflame.com, Semret said an European talent scout offered him a contract to turn professional with his athletics club.
He wrote that he was offered a US$18,000 monthly salary, a Mercedes-Benz, a bungalow and the possibility of being a citizen of the country where the club was situated.
He described the offer, which included prize money winnings and personal sponsorship, as a “once in a lifetime offer that I found too good to be true”.
“However, there was one paragraph in the contract that caught my eye and I was uncomfortable with it.
“It was regarding medical and clinical services which read, ‘We will provide the best and you will not question us’.
“As I stared at these words ‘medical and clinical services’, my thoughts took me back to Nov 27, 1977, in my home in Ipoh with my pitaji (father) and how I ended up being involved in the hammer throw.
“My pitaji was the undisputed hammer throwing hero in our family and he had just returned after winning the bronze medal at the Kuala Lumpur SEAP Games.
“He achieved this despite going against the doctor’s advice as he was injured with a pectoral muscle tear.
“All strapped with plasters on his chest, he called me and all my other siblings, brothers Kulwant Singh, Kaldip Singh, Manohor Singh and Mahinderjit Singh and sister Persin Kaur together and announced that was his last international competition.
“He then looked at us and said, ‘One of you will have to carry on where I left off. It was more like an order, and he did not say which one of us had to take up the event.
“We just looked at one another but no one said a word. My siblings then unanimously decided that I should be the chosen one as I was the eldest.”
Semret said he had never thrown a hammer and was more a 400m runner but his father was delighted that he took the challenge and told him to train with the “right attitude and stay clean”.
Semret wrote that the words “stay clean” jolted him and when he spoke with the talent scout in Perth, he enquired: ‘‘Does medical and clinical services mean I have to go on anabolic steroids?”
“He was silent and I told him I cannot accept the offer although it was very tempting. He was surprised and never tried to change my mind,” he penned.
Semret said he had no regrets turning his back on a professional career and riches.
He continued to compete internationally until the 1989 SEA Games in Kuala Lumpur “and thus fulfilled my pitaji’s dream”.
His plans to develop a pool of hammer throwers after his retirement never materialised.
Semret, who was in the transportation business, was charitable by nature and is fondly remembered for donating a vehicle to the Gurdwara Sahib Petaling Jaya.
He leaves his wife and four children.