Metro Plus
Bangalore
Chennai
Coimbatore
Delhi
Hyderabad
Kochi
Duo with big dreams
|
Pradeep John and P. Mohan are the national champions of the game. But they have larger goals — to make a mark in Asia and in the Olympics
|
Photo: S. Thanthoni
COURTING SUCCESS P. Mohan (left) and Pradeep John at a practice session
Pradeep John and P. Mohan have big dreams. They are the current national beach volleyball champions. The pair’s latest triumph in Goa adds up to the three titles they had won earlier. But there are bigger goals ahead: to make a mark at the Asian level and thereafter perhaps at the Olympics….. Well, at present everything looks like a chimera considering the sport has not yet earned the patronage commensurate with its great world-wide popularity and so there is an acute shortage of sponsors to inspire this champion duo.
“We have spent close to Rs. 3 lakh each from our own earnings so far to take part in various tournaments abroad and for our training in Brazil in 2007,” said the two, who are employed with the State Bank of India. “Of course, some help had come by way of contributions from Sivanthi (Adityan) and from Panimalar Engineering College but the expenses can be very high if we have to keep the pursuit going,” said the duo tired and frustrated by the huge hurdles.
Pradeep and Mohan are aware they have great odds to surmount but what motivates them are their own good domestic showing and the faith that given opportunities they would be able to rise up the ladder in Asia. “A top Indonesian player, who invited us for training said that the key to success is constant practice and not to forget physical fitness,” Pradeep said. This was also the point that was stressed upon at a 21-day camp they managed with a top Brazilian coach Marcus Sardhini in Rio de Janeiro last year.
If football is the opium of the Brazilians, then beach volleyball does not lag far behind. “The beaches are dotted with volleyball courts and everyone seemed to be involved,” said the two about their experience. Brazil, incidentally, is the world’s top nation in this sport closely followed by the U.S. In America, said A.J. Martin Sudhakar, Convenor of Beach Volleyball Federation of India, after having visited Florida, where interest in the sport abounds, there is a professional league on the lines of the ATP.
“There is huge money in beach volleyball and tremendous popularity considering the ideal ambience and the action on the sands between the teams of two players each,” said Sudhakar. He believes that in times to come beach volleyball will be more sought-after than the conventional indoor volleyball.
The Goa national, held at the Colva beach, makes Sudhakar, the man who initiated the launch of the beach volleyball national in the country in 1992, optimistic that the sport is gaining interest. “It has been Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh which had dominated initially. Now we have a good pair from Orissa and some promising players from Haryana and Kashmir. Haryana and Kashmir may not have beaches but the sand courts there will help the players to get adapted,” he said.
Maybe Pradeep and Mohan will face a greater challenge in the seasons ahead but their biggest challenge still is to gain stature in Asia and at the earliest. “We have given ourselves a three-year time frame. We know it will be a huge financial burden without sponsor-support. But even if we do not make it, we will be satisfied at the end that our efforts can at least inspire players who will make greater strides,” said Pradeep.
S. R. SURYANARAYAN
Printer friendly
page
Send this article to Friends by
E-Mail
Metro Plus
Bangalore
Chennai
Coimbatore
Delhi
Hyderabad
Kochi
|
