Famous entertainer entrepreneur, Datuk Irwan Shah Abdullah or better known as Datuk DJ Dave, will be the main attraction at the Asia Pacific Masters Games (APMG) 2018 badminton competition which begins tomorrow (Tuesday) at the Penang Badminton Association Hall at Bukit Dumbar.
DJ Dave, who turned 70 on Valentine’s Day (Feb 14), will be competing in the 70 singles, 70 doubles and 65-69 doubles categories. He will begin his campaign in the singles at 12pm tomorrow (Tuesday).
DJ Dave, whose real name is Dhammi Jagjit Sukhdev, hails from Kuala Kubu Baru and raised in nearby Tanjung Malim, charted the path from the small-town lad from humble beginnings singing Hindi songs as a pastime, to becoming an icon in the music industry.
The songs which captured hearts of Malaysians both young and old were Harum Bunga Kembang, Ku tak ingin menangis lagi and Maafkanlah.
DJ Dave has since released 41 albums to date, held many concerts and besides performing at private functions.
He is also the president of Yayasan Artist I Malaysia an organisation which helps artistes regardless of race, creed or religion. The Foundation was set in June 2012.
As much as he is popular as an iconic entertainer, he is fast making name for himself in badminton and he is no newcomer to the sport.
“I played badminton in school but not an avid player” said DJ Dave, whose previous favourite sports was football.
He stopped football after injuring his nose and took the advice of his doctor to change his sport. It was then he returned to badminton.
But he took up badminton seriously at a late age of 52, when he signed up to compete in veteran championships.
Paying great emphasis to health, he starts his day with a five-minute breathing exercise and does push-ups, sit-ups and squats every morning, besides playing badminton.
He competed in his debut international championship in the 2013 World Morning Cup badminton championship in Taiwan, where he won two silver medals (singles and doubles) followed by another silver medal in the same 44th edition of the championship in 2015, which was endorsed by Badminton World Federation (BWF).
DJ Dave has all this while been competing in the 65-69 age group and it will the first time he is competing in the 70s category in Penang and he hopes to make a winning debut.
“Badminton is for all ages. Anyone can play badminton. Age is just a number. The oldest player I have met in China was 96 years old. That was an inspiration for me to continue playing badminton,” said Dave who does not look his age at all.
“Playing in three categories here could be taxing, but I am still going ahead with it to test my limitations. Besides the badminton field in this Games is strong coming from 19 countries. I hope I will be able to win a medal or two” said Dave who was playing his first international competition in Malaysia.
A total 539 participants (men and women) are competing in singles, doubles and mixed teams in ten age groups starting from 35 and above to 80 and above.
No doubt, it is music that DJ Dave has left an everlasting mark, he has done equally well through his charity involvement, his business and now sporting arena.
