Dinesvaran, Malaysia's most successful rugby player

Free Malaysia Today

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/  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 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Download FMT News App: Google Play – http://bit.ly/2YSuV46 App Store – https://apple.co/2HNH7gZ Huawei AppGallery - https://bit.ly/2D2OpNP  #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)

Transcript

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