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Squash shows them the way
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It's passion for the game that saw Chennai lads Balamurugan and Parthiban grow in stature from picker boys to champions
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ROLE MODELS Balamurugan (left) and Parthiban Photo: M. Vedhan
For marker-turned-squash players B. Balamurugan and A. Parthiban, sport served as a means to earn their bread and butter. Squash became an outlet to express their desires.
With rare dedication and commitment, the two school dropouts have carved a niche for themselves in the field of squash.
"We have suffered a lot in our lives. We don't want that to happen again. More than anything else, we have now earned a lot of respect for the work we do," says 28-year-old Balamurugan, who coaches children at the ICL-TNSRA Academy.
While Balamurugan "prefers coaching" at this stage of his career, Parthiban's career is truly on an upswing. The 18-year-old, one of the bright talents to emerge from Tamil Nadu, reached the finals of the recently concluded junior National championship.
Career blossoms
Both Balamurugan and Parthiban started (after dabbling in several odd jobs) as "picker boys" at the tennis courts of the Madras Cricket Club (MCC). Made to move over to squash, the two, at different points of time, were spotted by Srivatsan Subramaniam, Joint Secretary, Squash Rackets Federation of India, and soon their career began to blossom.
For seven years, Bala, as he is called affectionately, worked as a marker in the MCC. Whenever the members packed up, Bala would enter the squash court and hit the ball against the wall with raw passion. And sometimes, he would play a match with the members. He soon began to win titles. Srivatsan roped him into the TNSRA in 2000.
Parthiban (he was a cleaner at the MCC for sometime) would watch the privileged players play at the TNSRA Academy from the sidelines in 2002. Major Maniam, consultant coach, SRFI, noticed the spark in Parthiban, and asked him to play along with others. Thus began the journey for Parthi, as Parthiban is called.
Late start
The two are enough proof of the SRFI's stated objective of providing opportunities for the economically under-privileged sections.
"We are forever grateful to N. Ramachandran (Secretary General, SRFI), Maniam and Cyrus Poncha (National Coach, SRFI). We are what we are because of them," say Balamurugan and Parthiban.
Beginning to play squash relatively late at 17 years, Balamurugan has achieved quite a lot. He won the National championship for professionals in 2000, 2002 and 2004, and is ranked No.1. He has also played in all the major tournaments in India, including the Maharashtra Open, tournaments conducted by the Otters Club, the Cricket Club of India (Mumbai) and events in Delhi and Kolkata. He is part of the Tamil Nadu team for the ongoing National senior championship in Mumbai.
The biggest moment came when he was selected for the Indian team in the Asian senior championship in 2002 in Kuala Lumpur. "I didn't know what was happening to me. I consider it a sadhanai (achievement)," says Bala.
Parthiban too has achieved quite a lot considering the background he has come from. He emerged the runner-up in the under-17 section of the Complan Cup in Mumbai in 2002, reached the semifinals of an all-India u-17 tournament at the Bombay Gymkhana Club and the CCI the same year. He won the under-17 category of the Natalia all-India tournament in 2003 and came first in the Delhi Open (under-19) in September this year. He finished third in the junior (under-19) Nationals last year at Ajmer. He has taken part in the world junior men's championship in Chennai in 2003 and the world junior championship in Pakistan in 2004.
Maniam, who has seen them grow in stature, says they are "role models for all the under-privileged children willing to take up squash."
K. KEERTHIVASAN
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