Arumugam Vijiaratnam, Singaporean athlete, Died at 94

  Sports

Dr. Arumugam Vijiaratnam was born on August 24, 1921, and died on February 18, 2016.

He was a Singaporean athlete.

He was the only Singaporean who represented Singapore in four sports, which include hockey, cricket, football and rugby — doing so from 1946 to 1956.

Arumugam Vijiaratnamalso held the distinction of being the first Singaporean engineer.

Vijiaratnam represented Singapore at the 1956 Melbourne Olympic Games in hockey, where he was instrumental in the 6-1 rout of the United States.

He received his education at the Victoria School from 1937 to 1940.

He was one of the first government scholars to show sports and studies could be balanced successfully.

Arumugam Vijiaratnam was awarded government scholarships to study engineering at the Kuala Lumpur Technical College in 1941 and Brighton College of Advanced Technology in 1950 where he graduated with an engineering degree.

Arumugam Vijiaratnam was captain of the hockey and cricket teams at the Brighton College of Advanced Technology.

Following his returned to Singapore in 1953, he worked for the Public Works Department and Port of Singapore Authority (PSA).

Vijiaratnam retired from the PSA as the director of engineering at the age of 75.

Arumugam Vijiaratnam became the first Pro-Chancellor of Nanyang Technological University in 1992 and served until 2005.

Arumugam Vijiaratnam passed away at 94 yrs old.