BALA DITTA
BALA DITTA
- Sarawak 1st Olympian
The Late Bala Ditta was the first Sarawak Olympian. He hailed from the vicinity of Bario. He was a Kelabit though little is known of his childhood or even teenage years. Bala Ditta was a throwback from an earlier sporting era. From late 1950s, his athletic prowess was only really discovered when he joined the Police Field Force at the age of 23 in 1960. His commanding officer was so impressed that he was singled out for special training in athletics. And Kuda took off.
In 1962, within a short space of less than 3 short years, Bala Ditta represented Sarawak at the Asian Games in Jakarta and the Commonwealth Games in Perth. Sarawak helped form Malaysia in 1963. Then came the 1964 Olympic Games in Tokyo in which Malaysia participated for the first time as a new nation. Bala Ditta was the sole Sarawakian selected for the 61-member Malaysian contingent for Tokyo. To cap it all, the strapping 6 footer (73 kg) athlete was chosen to be Malaysia’s flag bearer in the parade of nations for the opening ceremony.
For an athlete who started his sporting career so late, and domiciled in rural settings with the minimum of modern sporting facilities and equipment, it is all the more remarkable that Bala Ditta represented Malaysia in the 110 metres hurdles – one of the most technically demanding events in track and field. He never benefitted from any long overseas training stints that are so commonplace among national or even state athletes today. The only expert help he got came from visiting American or British coaches.
Bala Ditta won several medals representing Malaysia in the SEAP (Southeast Asia Peninsular) Games from 1965 to 1971. His best time in the 110 metres hurdles was 14.6 seconds. He first achieved that time in 1962 and equalled it several times in the years that followed. His 14.6 seconds is still the current Sarawak record for the event (it has endured 51 years and still counting) – older than our nation and of course the longest standing record in Sarawak athletics.
Bala Ditta also represented Sarawak in rugby as well. In track and field, he also held our state record in the 400 metres hurdles for 18 years (his time of 53.7 seconds was bettered by another Sarawakian who won the silver medal in the SEA Games in creating that new record), was state champion in the Shot Putt (5 consecutive years) and the Discus (8 years), and was a member of Sarawak’s relay teams in the 4×100 and 4×400 metres in too many races to count in the 1960s.
Bala Ditta served a distinguished career in the Royal Malaysian Police for 25 years, some of those years were spent in jungle operations during the communist insurgency of the 1960s and early 1970s. He retired in 1988 with the rank of Inspector. Bala Ditta passed away at the age of 66 in 2003.
Borneo Oracle would like to pay special tribute to this Great Sportmen from Sarawak.
