KUALA KUBU BHARU: From middle-distance running great to businessman, B Rajkumar is probably the most successful Malaysian athlete turned entrepreneur.
He continues to develop projects in his hometown in Hulu Selangor, such as ecotourism, oil and gas tools and wagon and train depot equipment. As the Hulu Selangor district champion in the 800m and 1500m, he won both the events and was selected to attend the Selangor ‘Kem Bakat’ under schoolteacher and head coach, Rennie Martin.Rennie knew he had a gem of an athlete and phoned me that day, April 21, to witness the prowess of a schoolboy who, he said, was set to “make middle distance running special”.
Wonder boy, Rajkumar, in training at AFC Cologne Athletics Club, Germany, before the Asian Track and Field meet in Jakarta in 1985, when he was 17 years old.