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A dream comes true

Sonika Vickraman won a bronze in the senior women kata category in the World Karate Cup in Greece. RAYAN ROZARIO catches up with the champ

PHOTO: K. ANANTHAN

GRACEFUL IN GREECE Sonika Vickraman.

When Sonika Vickraman of Alan Thilak Karate School struck a bronze in the World Karate Cup at Halkida, Greece, last month, she dedicated it to Dai Sensei Moses Thilak.

And, rightly so. She had fulfilled the dream of the late Dai Sensei, who was chief coach of the Indian karate contingent and founder of the All India Shito Ryu Karate Federation (AISRKF).

What a feeling

"I am thrilled that I had realised his dream because he always believed that I had the ability to do it," says 37-year-old Sonika.

She achieved this feat in the senior women's kata event.

"He had a lot of faith in me and it was quite unfortunate that I could not make the trip every time despite earning a chance. It happened in 1996 (Spain) and then in 2000 (the Philippines), when I was at my peak. This time, I decided to make the trip at all costs and it turned out to be fruitful," she smiles.

But, there is a tinge of disappointment behind that smile.

"I always wanted to bring back the gold for my master. But, it doesn't matter. There's always another time. Now that I have found the way, it's going to be easier next time," she adds.

Equally good

With husband Vickraman.

Sonika, who has more than 50 national medals in her kitty, says the Indian team was in no way inferior to the Europeans.

"We were the only ones following the actual international styles — the sports version of both kata and kumite. "This time the exposure for the team, the coaches and the managers was very good."

Is this her best performance? "I won't say that. My best performance came in the 1999 Bhopal nationals. I felt that I had done my best. And, I was convinced about my performance,"says Sonika.

Making a choice

Why has she stuck to just kata? "I was doing both kata and kumite but dropped out of the latter after the birth of my children. Kumite is the body but kata is the soul of karate. Besides mental and spiritual strength, kata requires a lot of grace," she says. During the Greece tour, she had a psychological edge as she could stay with her husband, Paul Vickraman, AISRKF general secretary, who accompanied the team as manager.

"He was a big inspiration," she says. On his part, Mr. Vickraman is happy about the team's performances. "They did their job and I am proud of them."

Sonika, who also teaches Taichi in Coimbatore, says she was able to come up trumps because she practises Taichi. "It's the mother of all martial arts. It requires perfection and beauty. I learnt to handle pressure because of Taichi."

It was a memorable championship for Sensei Rajasekaran of Madurai as well. The president of the Tamil Nadu Karate Do Federation got his certification as an international karate judge.

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