U K Shyam
IHFS EXCELLENCE AWARD FOR SPORTS-PERSON – ATHLETICS
U K Shyam was a student at St Andrews Secondary School and Raffles Junior College and later went on to graduate in double degree in Philosphy and Political Science at the National University of Singapore (NUS).
After a long wait of 33 years, Shyam broke the 100m sprint record set by sprint legend C Kunalan. His new record of 10.37s was created at the World University Games in Beijing in 2001. It’s the fastest record in the 100m sprint and to prove it was not a fluke shot, he equalled his record with a silver medal at the 21st SEA Games held in KL in 2011. The record stood for 22 good years and was broken just last year in 2023..
This great feat garnered Shyam a lot of recognition and appreciation that well-known sports brands solicited him to be their brand ambassador. His life changed in a flicker of a moment, to be exact in 10.37s.
Shyam is grateful to one kind soul who made all that possible when the chips were down. He nearly gave up everything when his decision to relocate overseas to train and continue his studies flopped miserably. “I just gave up. There was no point in running anymore. Everything had fallen to pieces. I had no school to go to, no money, no support,” he says.
He was ready to throw in his towel when this Good Samaritan in swimming legend Ang Peng Siong intervened in his life and gave him a new lease of life.
Shyam met the legend at a national athlete’s function and when he comes to know Shyam’s plight, he encouraged him to get into the tracks and start running again. Not only that, he also went out of his to ways to help Shyam. “Uncle Peng Siong brought me to his swim school and gave me a job as a strength and conditioning coach,” says Shyam, who would later go on to study Philosophy and Political Science at the National University of Singapore.
“He literally dragged me to the track and told me to run…. It’s amazing how someone from a different sport came into the picture and looked after me. That’s the beauty of sports,” he recalls.
Shyam will always be grateful to Ang Peng Siong for being the life changer in his life journey.
He had good fortunes knocking on him when Tag Heuer and Nike signed him to be their brand ambassadors. He was never the same.
“You know, there are lessons learnt in sports which you can never learn in the classroom,” he says. The most important lesson? “Never give up on your dreams.”
Shyam now teaches at Raffles Institution and look back with gratefulness to all those who have trusted in his capabilities and supported him especially when his chips were down.
UK Shyam – 4 medals – 2 Silver 2 Bronze
Silver Men 100m 10.37 – 0.5 m/s 2001 Kuala Lumpur
Silver Men 4x100m 40.86 – 2003 Hanoi
Bronze Men 4x100m 40.445 – 1997 Jakarta
Bronze Men 4x100m 40.59 – 2005 Manila