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Spiking their way up
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Two promising youngsters from the state, N. Swetha and Imtiaz Ahmed, are hopeful of donning the India colours
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PHOTOS: SAMPATH KUMAR G.P.
WORLD AT THEIR FINGERTIPS Imtiaz Ahmed and N. Swetha may have served their first volleys late in life, but the State’s hopes now ride on their shoulders
Swetha and Imtiaz Ahmed took to volleyball rather late, but in the span of few years, have hit the forefront.
While Swetha has already represented the country, Imtiaz is the star attacker in the State. Needless to say, both carry a lot of expectations from home fans and administrators alike.
A roar from the crowd greets Imtiaz every time he goes to the service line and is deafening when he soars in, to unleash his thunderbolt smashes. The 23 year old is fast emerging as the lead attacker in State colours.
“Being short is my handicap. Although I make up for the short stature with my leap, it’s not good enough to don the India colours. But then I don’t mind playing for the country even as a ‘libero’,” says Imtiaz.
In fact it was as a libero that Imtiaz began his professional volleyball career with the South Central Railway, when posted at Secunderabad. “The SCR team then had many India stars and the only way I could figure into the team was as a libero,” said the now Hubli- based RPF constable. “I had to curb my attacking instincts, a role that I developed during my college days at the Sahyadri College in Shimoga.”
“In my school days (at Santhe Bennur in Chennagiri Taluk, Davangere District) it was athletics that attracted me. I tried my hand in long jump, high jump and even shot put and to a large extent that helps me in my volleyball flexibility to this day,” admits Imtiaz, who is the only salaried person amongst eight siblings.
“It was in my third year of college (BA) that I got the call up from RPF and only last February (07) that I managed to get a transfer to RPF at South Western Railway in Hubli and under coach Kurian. And I know there is a long way ahead for me before donning the India colours. But it surely will not be for want of trying.”
Imtiaz played the lead role in a team game, taking Karnataka to the title, with an all win record, in the 15th edition of the South Zone Senior National volleyball championship that was held at J.P. Nagar recently and was instrumental in the way South Western Railway put it across fancied KSP in the semi finals of the State games in Mandya last month.
“I’m assigned a role and the coach tells me to finish off the rallies in the best way possible. It’s my power-packed smashes that has won the team points most often, but of late I have learned to be smarter and use the ‘drops’ effectively. I am still learning and will put in my best every time I enter the court.”
N. Swetha hails from a family of sportspersons. While her father Nagaraj, played volleyball at the State level, seven of his brothers were all into sports too with elder Venugopal even called for the India camp. But like Imtiaz, Swetha too fancied volleyball only at the college level. “In school it was in athletics that I began my sports career and right from primary school till 10th, won medals by the dozens.
As a high jumper I had the best of 1.45 metres at a State-level meet,” says Swetha. “But in my first Pre University year, I represented my college (NMKRV) for the State ‘A’ division volleyball league (2005) for women and was promptly picked by the Sports Authority of India (SAI).
In the following year, I played the youth Nationals at Bangalore and went on to figure in the Indian Youth team to Thailand,” Swetha says. Swetha has played under three coaches — Mohd. Kalandhar at SAI, Krishne Gowda and Anil Kumar — and attributes her growing stature in the game to all three. Gifted with an athletic physique, Swetha made her presence felt as a blocker. But an injury to Suvarna Kumari forced her to play as an attacker, and the role has stuck on.
“It’s a challenge to soar over the rival blockers and execute smashes and I have cherished that every time I succeeded in it,” says the soft-spoken lass of 20, who has donned the State colours in the youth Nationals, junior (once each), twice at the senior Nationals and three years in a row in the South Zone championships.
“After graduation I will continue to play for the State Police and Karnataka,” said Swetha, when queried about her career plans with the Indian Railways, who have invariably grabbed the cream of talent into their fold.
“I will then have to move base from this State and I am not willing to do that. But I will finish my graduation, for, along with my game, I know how important academic qualification really is,” she says.
Surely a wise head on a shoulder that carries the State’s hope of reviving its status in the game at the higher level.
AVINASH NAIR
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