28 March, 2024

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Myla Brings Pride To The Community

By S. Joypooranachandren

S. Joypooranachandren

S. Joypooranachandren

Saravanamuthu Mylvaganam – MBE

Our community feels honoured that one of our eldest son’s commitment and hard work towards the community’s betterment is recognised by Her Majesty. It is a jubilant time for the Tamil Schools Sports Association (TSSA), Surbiton Sports Club, Kingston Institute of Tamil Culture (KITC), and the whole Sri Lankan community.

Myla is from a town called Jaffna, north of Sri Lanka, and studied in the renowned school of Hartley College. His career began in the 1960’s when he was selected to participate in district matches, competing against teams from all schools in Northern Sri Lanka and with various selected teams visiting from India.

As a talented and stylish batsman at Hartley College, he always opened the batting line for the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Cricket teams at his college. Representing Jaffna Schools Selected Cricket Teams he played and performed excellently against the Indian School Team in 1964. In addition, he obtained numerous honours when he played for the 1st, 2nd and 3rd Eleven football teams for his college. From an early age he became a respected, well known and well loved sport personality during his time at college and in Jaffna.
After declining recruitment for the Ceylon Army, he travelled to England to continue with education, qualifying as a Network System Administrator for the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), which has been his occupation for the last 40 years. Nevertheless he maintained his strong aptitude for cricket by playing for the DTI’s Cricket Team in London.

Saravanamuthu Mylvagana

Saravanamuthu Mylvagana

While enjoying playing cricket he embarked on finding friends with a similar interest of establishing sporting organisations in the UK to train and organise sporting events to provide opportunity for young children to excel in their sporting abilities.

He established a coaching programme at a community school in New Malden in the name of KITC – Kingston Institute of Tamil Culture and entered the cricket team at the local league. He was inspirational and many trained by him became fine cricketers at their respective local schools in the Royal Borough of Kingston.

Surbiton Sports Club was founded in 1985 with his cricketing friends and Myla played for over 15 years for the club and became President in 2012 when the club celebrated its first Jubilee. He currently trains youths at the nets both winter and summer, manages the players, and the club has won many prizes and made it to the top of the local league for many years. His own back garden became a training pitch to train young children during weekdays and evenings.

Tamil School Sports Association (UK) – TSSA (UK) was founded in 1992 by Myla along with 11 others to organise One Day, 7-A-Side Football Tournaments in May and Cricket and Netball Tournaments in August every year for young children of various age groups from under 14 to adults in the Community. Every year over 2000 children take part in various sporting activities in TSSA events. TSSA is celebrating its first Jubilee this year. (2015) He was elected as President for the TSSA (UK) in 2005 and 2006, and has always been a strong pillar for the organisation throughout its progress over its 25 years of activity.

Furthermore, Myla enrolled as president of Hartley College Past Student Association in the (UK) in 2009 and organised sporting and cultural events which generated mass funding to help the sporting activities for the young children in Sri Lanka.

Saravanamuthu Mylvagana has worked tirelessly for the majority of his life to bring about thriving organisations in order to give young ones and older ones alike the opportunity to partake in sports and community activities and enhance their potential talents. It is no wonder that his charitable works has been rightly recognised and credited, a privilege which he surely deserves. He is an outstanding example and continuous inspiration to all who provide services willingly without anticipating something in return. Myla, we are proud of you…

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Latest comments

  • 4
    0

    Congratulations Myla.
    Joy Thanks for this piece of article

    • 4
      1

      My heartfelt congratulations to Myla.
      I came to know Myla personally only recently, but have heard about him as a founder member and pillar of TSSA, which was formed among Tamil school OBAs, who were displeased at the environment that existed in the Festival of Cricket at that time. He has also been homoured for his knowledge and services to cricket to be appointed as an honorary patron of ETCL (English Tamil Cricket league) which conducts an annual tournament among Srilankan teams in London. I wish him well and hope that he will continue to give his expertise in the future.

  • 5
    0

    Mr.Joy.

    I am pleased.Merit has been recognized. Not Standardized!

  • 3
    0

    Joy,
    Very good article about Myla’s life, his achievements and contribution to the community. Very well deserved honours for a great person which we all should be proud of. I had the pleasure of working with him closely in KITC and TSSA. I admired his commitment, loyalty, dedication and hard work for the success and betterment of the organisations. Congratulations and Best wishes to Myla for a long, happy and healthy life.

  • 2
    1

    I know Myla for a long time, going back to our student days. Myla was one of many great cricketers produced by the schools in the North.
    I can rattle a few names
    Balasingham of Hartley College – he went on to play for St Thomas and club cricket,
    Devendra of St Johns
    V.T Mahalingam – Central and Army, he was subsequently killed by fellow army colleagues
    Kanaganyagam of Cetnral college and NCC
    Nadarajasundram of Hartley and Colombo University
    Donald Ganakone Jaffana Central
    Kanagathurai – St Johns
    Dandy Selvanayagam
    K.Rajalingam – Hartley College wicket keeper

    all these players would have walked in to a Sri Lankan national team at any time

    it will be a long time before a Tamil from NE make into the national team.

    This is partly due to the mentality of the Tamil Parents, partly due to lack of facility in the NE and partly due to racism.

    Sri Lanka cricket is at the moment in dire straits, soon Afghanistan may beat US

    NZ beat them in the last T20 with 10 overs to spare. This is in a 20 over match

    Dilshan was booed and was asked to retire by a fan

    we need more Myla’s specially in Sri Lanka

  • 1
    0

    I is a Great Honour for Mr Mylvaganam for his dedicated work at his office and for the Tamil community in the UK. He is well known among all the Tamil Community as ‘MYLA’ You may see him every Saturday morning at Kingston Tamil school helping organising the Tamil Community School and Fine Arts classes. It was a great opportunity to know Myla from 1992 the year Jaffna Sports Schools association(UK) was established and now changed its name to Tamil Schools Sports Association(UK). It was a pleasure to work with Myla organising sporting activities for TSSA(UK), Kingston Tamil School – KITC and Surbiton Sports Club. He was always supported by his wife Devi Mylvaganam who isparational to start JSSA(UK) and formed her past school – Jaffna Hindu Ladies College Old Girls Association in the UK. We wish Myla for happy and long life to do much more things he enjoys doing in the future.
    Arunachalam Thiruketheeswaran
    0775 1931640

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