Sunday, 12th December 2004
Sports in my life
This section focusses on the sports part of my life. Sport is everything in life to me. I would be totally lost without it. In short I eat sport, drink sport, sleep sport and live sport.
I watch a lot of sport besides playing them. My mom often complains thats its one of the sports channels thatz on TV all the time. I never tire of them. Being a pakka indian, Cricket can't be far off and stays at the top of my list with maximum precedence especially when India is playing. If you ever doubt my religious following of cricket then this should put your doubts to rest.
I have been to almost every international match held in Bangalore at the Chinaswamy stadium (even queuing up early morning at 3AM for tickets). I have even been to Ranji Trophy matches between Karnataka and TamilNadu at Chinaswamy stadium, Challenger series tournaments etc. I never miss matches involving India on TV(even if they start at 4AM in the morning in NewZealand or go on to 3AM in the night at WestIndies).
Besides cricket i also watch a lot of football (especially English Premier League), Basketball (NBA), Formula 1 (Micheal Schumacher is my hero) and Hockey (when India is involved).
That is as far as my watching sport goes, now comes the equally important part of my sport life which is taking part in sports. I have always been a very 'sporty' person, constantly in some sport or the other.
But it has been Swimming and Waterpolo that i have been associated with throughout my life. Besides these aquatic sports i have been a member of the cricket teams right from Middle School (Home School) through High School (Vijaya) to College (Kumarans).
Although i never managed to set the world on fire with my exploits i always chipped in my mite. Besides this i am a fairly decent volleyball player playing for the class team throughout and would make a fairly good goalkeeper for football.
I joined swimming in 1986 (yes, i was just 4 years then) for two main reasons. One, The Swimming pool (Basavanagudi Aquatic Centre) is located approximately 50mts from my house, and Two, my mom felt i was watching too much TV and excercise would be good for me (in hindsight a very wise decision). I have been in the sport ever since and hope never to leave.
By swimming i mean not just a dip in the swimming pool during public batch hours but serious training (14 KM a day, 3 sessions a day) needed to take part in competitive events. I have represented School, College, University and Club (Basavanagudi Aquatic Centre) at different competitive meets ranging from district level to national level.
Sadly an international meet has eluded me.I have won plenty of medals and laurels for my club at state level and for my state at national level meets during my fairly long swimming career.
I made the transition from swimming to waterpolo after my 10 std board exams (SSLC) when the burden of studies became quite hard to handle. I think it was one of the best decision i have taken becoz my waterpolo career has been a sheer dream (which i hope never ends) with lotz of memorable times. I have even had the privilege of being the captain of the state waterpolo team at both junior and senior meets on more than one occasion.
Waterpolo being a team sport has taught me a lot in life .... things like teamwork, handling conflicts, sharing accolades etc. But the most important thing is that i really really love the sport. It is indeed sad that this wonderful sport is not given its due (even within the aquatic fraternity and always plays second fiddle to swimming). Maybe one day things will change.
One of the best things about being a sportsman is the oppotunities you get to travel and participate in different meets held in different places. Such oppurtunites when you travel with others in a team can stay in an alien location managing to look after yourself can be a very enriching experience. Such oppurtunities are what keeps me hooked to the sport.
Posted by Nikhil on Sunday, 12th December 2004 in Life in General | Sport | Fun | Nonsense