Love of the Game

I am what you can call a dyslexic when it comes to sports. Sports have never interested me and even as a child I used to hardly participate in sports day. Let me tell you that when I’m talking about sports, I’m not talking about the games that we played as kids like ‘Lock and Key’ or ‘Colour, colour, which colour do you choose’ etc. I used to love playing games but not sports. The only time I won a prize in a sports event was when I won the third place in a running race when I was 6 years old. Though I was fortunate enough to be smart in other things, sports was something I just couldn’t get a hang off, that’s why I use the term dyslexic.

As a kid I tried to fit in with other children. I tried playing throwball but I realized I was not strong enough to throw the ball. I was not tall enough to play Basket ball and I was not fast enough to participate in relays. I was completely frustrated, though I was not good at sports I desperately wanted to play one. It used to be embarrassing when relatives would come home and ask me about my favourite sport and all I would give them was an ugly glare. It was when I was 12 that I resolved that I would try my hand at Badminton, it looked like a game that I could play and there was an excellent coaching academy near my house. I enrolled for the summer course but again playing badminton was not as easy as I thought.

To start with my racket would not make any contact with the shuttle cock which was definitely a huge problem, how else could I play?? It used to be humiliating because all the children were able to do it and me being the dyslexic person that I was in sports was not able to do it. There was this one incident that I can never forget where all the kids were made to line up and each of them was given a chance to serve 3 times. Every kid was eagerly awaiting his turn except me, I was just cringing about the future that I could already see. Finally it was my turn and as anticipated I could not make contact with the racket and shuttle cock. I died a thousand deaths that day.

My coach at that time was Ramesh Padukone, father of the legendary badminton player Prakash Padukone. He sensed what my problem was and made me do a few exercises which would help me make contact with the racket and shuttle cock. He gave me a lot of encouragement and I was determined to succeed. A week after the devastating experience, I could not only make contact with the racket and shuttle cock but my serves had also improved. In fact my serves were powerful. After that there was no looking back for me, I had gained the confidence that I needed and it was just a matter of time before I learned everything about the game.

It was almost a month and half since I had joined the summer coaching classes and I was playing fairly good. The summer camp was coming to an end and Ramesh Padukone told us that there would be a small tournament at the end of the camp and the winners could get a temporary membership in the academy. Though I wanted to join the academy, it was plain fear that hampered me. It was like I lost all my confidence the moment I heard about the match and I backed out. I never attended the match and I never told my parents about it. It is something that I am ashamed of even to this day, the fact that I accepted defeat even before trying.

My dad however was excited about the fact that I was playing badminton and wanted me to join the academy and was all set to talk to Ramesh Padukone about it. No words can describe the uneasiness that I felt upon hearing it because I knew what I had done by not attending the mini tournament. When my dad learned about the fact that I had not attended the tournament, he was very disappointed in me but it was Ramesh Padukone who agreed to give me a membership. I do not know what it was that he saw in me that he thought I should be given a second chance.

I played Badminton for nearly two years without missing even a single day because I had developed a love for this sport. By this time I was good, I could even defeat the kids who had joined along with me during the coaching camp. However I could not continue it any further as I had to give a lot more attention to my 10th board exams and somewhere along the way I got too lost in my studies to think about Badminton again.

It was only a couple of days ago when I played Badminton again during a team outing that my company had arranged for. I was apprehensive as I did not know if I could play. I felt just like the way I felt on the first day of my coaching camp. It was only after the first serve, that I realized that I had not forgotten anything, I could still play. Probably a little out of touch but I could definitely play. It was a moment of euphoria, it was like going back in time when I was 12. I knew that even if I was not the best, I was good enough. Sometimes I think if I made a mistake by not pursuing Badminton but then again I’ve come a long way from being dyslexic to actually loving a sport.