Dinesvaran, Malaysia's most successful rugby player
Once a victim of racial bullying and harassment, Dinesvaran ‘Duke’ Krishnan is now Malaysia’s most successful rugby player who aims to inspire the next generation of athletes.
Story by: Frankie D’Cruz
Shot by: Fauzi Yunus
Presented by: Dinesh Kumar Maganathan
Edited by: Nirmalan Mohan
Read More:
https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/leisure/2024/02/15/how-dinesvaran-went-from-brawler-to-duke-of-rugby/
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Story by: Frankie D’Cruz
Shot by: Fauzi Yunus
Presented by: Dinesh Kumar Maganathan
Edited by: Nirmalan Mohan
Read More:
https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/leisure/2024/02/15/how-dinesvaran-went-from-brawler-to-duke-of-rugby/
Free Malaysia Today is an independent, bi-lingual news portal with a focus on Malaysian current affairs.
Subscribe to our channel - http://bit.ly/2Qo08ry
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Check us out at https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com
Follow FMT on Facebook: http://bit.ly/2Rn6xEV
Follow FMT on Dailymotion: https://bit.ly/2WGITHM
Follow FMT on Twitter: http://bit.ly/2OCwH8a
Follow FMT on Instagram: https://bit.ly/2OKJbc6
Follow FMT on TikTok : https://bit.ly/3cpbWKK
Follow FMT Telegram - https://bit.ly/2VUfOrv
Follow FMT LinkedIn - https://bit.ly/3B1e8lN
Follow FMT Lifestyle on Instagram: https://bit.ly/39dBDbe
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Download FMT News App:
Google Play – http://bit.ly/2YSuV46
App Store – https://apple.co/2HNH7gZ
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#FMTLifestyle #Duke #DinesvaranKrishnan #Rugby #Athlete
Transcript
00:00 [MUSIC PLAYING]
00:03 35-year-old Dineshwaran Duke Krishnan
00:12 is Malaysia's most successful rugby player.
00:15 But not many people know that the early chapters of his life
00:18 were marked by violence and verbal abuse.
00:21 Dark-skinned and twice the size of Boyce's age,
00:24 he was frequently the subject of racist slurs.
00:27 [MUSIC PLAYING]
00:30 Unsurprisingly, this resulted in the lad,
00:33 who hails from Taman Keladi in Sungai Petani Kedah,
00:36 being consumed by anger, fighting back in school,
00:39 and even on the streets.
00:41 At age 15, he got into yet another brawl
00:45 and ended up at the Pokosena Rehabilitation Centre.
00:48 When I come out from the school of Pokosena,
00:52 I am like, OK, now I don't think--
00:57 I just got scared that I will be somebody--
01:00 nobody in the future.
01:02 I'm just scared of that.
01:03 I'm like finding my way out.
01:06 Fortunately, that wasn't the case.
01:08 He eventually chose a path that would lead him to become
01:11 Malaysia's rugby icon.
01:14 Three weeks after he began playing the sport at age 18,
01:17 national rugby coach, Nairuddin Uthman,
01:20 spotted him during a tournament in Kangar
01:22 and thought he was a Fijian.
01:24 When told otherwise by his coach, Ismail Ibrahim,
01:27 Dennis Vernon received an instant call up
01:29 to the national under-19 side.
01:32 He soon began training at Padang Astaka in Petaling Jaya,
01:36 the home ground of the Combined Old Boys Rugby Association,
01:39 or COBRA.
01:41 When he wasn't training, he worked as a bartender
01:44 at the COBRA clubhouse to send money to his family back home.
01:47 [MUSIC PLAYING]
01:52 Over time, Dennis Vernon began to excel at the sport
01:56 and eventually represented Malaysia in 7s, 10s, and 15s
02:00 rugby as a forward.
02:03 He later played for Yamaha Jubilo, now Shizuoka Blue
02:06 Refs in Japan for six years from 2013.
02:11 But during his first season, he couldn't even
02:14 last 10 minutes as the game was fast and tough.
02:19 Still, head coach Katsuyuki Kiyomiya
02:22 never lost faith in Dennis Vernon's ability.
02:25 It didn't take long for him to develop strength, reflexes,
02:28 and movement comparable to his teammates from New Zealand,
02:32 Fiji, and Tonga.
02:34 So why was he given the name Duke?
02:37 It all began when a COBRA teammate
02:39 noticed his unhappiness over being called a racial slur
02:43 and suggested another word that rhymed, "doogro," referring
02:47 to a milk powder brand.
02:49 However, the Japanese had difficulties
02:51 pronouncing "doogro," which was how Duke came to be.
02:55 In 2015, Dennis Vernon was part of the Yamaha Jubilo squad
03:00 that clinched their first ever All Japan Championship
03:03 title after 54 years, beating six-time champions Santori
03:08 Sangoliah.
03:09 The following year, he scored a career-high five tries
03:13 and helped his team play second in the 2016 and 2017 season.
03:20 After a brief stint with the Hino Red Dolphins in Japan,
03:24 Dennis Vernon became the first Malaysian
03:26 to play US Major League Rugby with the Chicago
03:29 Hounds two years ago.
03:31 Upon his return to Malaysia, he started his nonprofit program,
03:35 Duke Performance Empire, aimed at getting youths
03:38 to positively channel their energy through rugby,
03:41 as well as to introduce or develop the game in schools.
03:45 Outside of the sporting world, his hulking figure
03:48 has given him a shot at playing the role of a villain
03:51 in an upcoming Tamil movie set in Sungai Petani.
03:54 From humble beginnings in Taman Kaladi
03:57 to becoming the Duke of Rugby, Dennis Vernon's journey
04:00 is a reminder that despite rough beginnings,
04:02 one can still go far and succeed against all odds.
04:06 Dinesh Kumar Maganadan and Frankie D'Cruz, FMT Lifestyle.
04:11 [MUSIC PLAYING]
04:14 (upbeat music)