BENGALURU Sunday 2 November 2008
DC
38
TRIVIA:
sport
Before the Marquis of Queensberry rules for boxing were drawn up in 1867, all prize fights in England and the United States were fought with bare knuckles.
A natural for the sport MAXIN MATHEW BENGALURU
New kid on the block
B
14-year-old Sagarika Shyam has embarked on a career to emulate her mother. A PHOTOGRAPH BY SATHISH B.
etween the pimples and the mood swings of teenage years, making a career in sports can be tough for any girl. Luckily, Sagarika Shyam doesn’t bow to the routine. Pursuing a blossoming career in basketball, the 14-yearold went from being just another average hoopster to help India win an international gold medal in Russia. Sagarika’s love for hoops is not surprising considering she is the daughter of former India captain Jayvanthi, who now is one of the best experienced coaches available in the state. But interestingly, basketball never figured in Sagarika’s agenda as she was smitten by tennis. “I just loved playing it (tennis). I always thought that I would become a great tennis player… basketball was never on my mind,” says Sagarika. Soon, her mother suggested that she take up basketball, a move which was initially shot down by Sagarika. “I had no plans to take up basketball, just because my mother has been a national player (laughs). She never forced me, but then to make her happy I began playing at the club,” says the tenth standard student of Sophia’s Girls High School. What began as a time pass at the club turned into a passion. “As I started playing regularly, I realised that I was actually good at it. And now, I have no regrets opting for basketball. I’m really grateful to Nandini Basappa and KSBBA secretary Govindraj for their support,” she said. Clearly, mother knows best. And there has been no turning back since. With credible performances in inter-school tournaments, Sagarika got her first big break in
The victorious Indian U-16 girl’s team with their medals in Russia. 2006 at the U-13 inter-state tournament at Kolkata. Within the next two years, the young Sagarika went on to represent Karnataka in the U-16 and U-18 meets too. In May this year, Sagarika embarked on a campaign that would eventually win her international accolades. “Over 150 names from all over India were listed, out of which 20 talented hoopsters, including me, were shortlisted for the Indian camp in Madhya Pradesh,” she said. After a gruelling month of training, Sagarika was chosen among the 12 to represent India at the Children of Asia International Sports and Games in Russia. The journey from India to Neryungri, which included stopovers in Moscow and Yakutsk, was a memorable one for the 250member Indian contingent for the games. “We were expecting freezing temperatures but surprisingly, the weather was pleasant. The only problem was there was hardly any night as we had long sunny days,”
Sagarika recalls. It was a pure show of grit by the U-16 girl’s team as they crushed Irkutsk Oblast, Khabarovsk, Mongolia and Thailand to setup a grand finale against the home team, the Republic of Sakha. Traditionally, centre positions are occupied by tall players, but standing at 5”3 as compared to the towering Russian guards, Sagarika might have appeared outmuscled. However, with quick shuffles and passes, Sagarika foxed her opponents. Her impressive game propelled India past Sakha 98-65 (28:15, 21:19, 29:13, 20:18), much to the disappointment of the home crowd. “We had come this far, and there was no way we were ready to settle for silver. Surprisingly, none of the Russian newspapers carried news of our victory,” Sagarika added. Talk of sore losers. With several upcoming tournaments and a state meet next year, Sagarika has embarked on a career to emulate her mother. Surely, tennis’ loss has been basketball’s gain.
Coulthard ready for final hurrah at Brazil riton David Coulthard admitted on Friday that the prospect of his impending retirement from Formula One has begun to hit him with emotions as he prepares for his final race in Brazil. The 37-year-old Scot, who has raced for Williams, McLaren and Red Bull in a 15-seasons career of 246 races, will climb into an F1 car for the last time prior to Sunday’s 71-laps race. He said: “It did not really strike me at all until I went to the airport — that was when I
B
began to realise what was happening. Before that, I wasn’t thinking about it. “Karen — my fiancée — took me to the airport as normal and it was only when I was just about to get in the car that I realised I’d be leaving home as a Grand Prix driver, for what that’s worth, and be coming back as an ex-driver. “That’s the first time it really struck me. When I was going through the thoughts earlier in the year about whether I should make it easy for everyone rather
than drag things out, it all seemed straightforward and logical.” In his long career, after making his debut as the replacement for Ayrton Senna in the Williams team at the 1994 Spanish Grand Prix in Barcelona, Coulthard has experienced the highs and lows. He won 13 Grand Prix, but missed out on world championships and he survived lifethreatening moments and a previous end of season when he believed his career was, prema-
turely, finished. That was in 2004 after leaving McLaren, following a long spell with the team, and found he had no immediate takers for his experience. “When I was saying goodbye to the boys, before going off to the last race, I had tears,” he said. “And when you’re not someone who is a tearful person, it came as a complete surprise to me. The guys at McLaren were sort of looking away respectfully.” — AFP