Bengaluru :
As the early-morning sun soaks the Ulsoor lake, dreamy-eyed youngsters — some sleepy, some chirpy — troop into Trishna Club in a far corner of the lake. Soon, the stillness of the lake is tattooed with the rhythmic paddling of oars. For the next couple of hours, rowers go about their routes, shouting ‘down’ and ‘bravo’.
The sport long dominated by defence personnel has new takers: civilians. A reflection of this trend is in evidence at the ongoing 18th sub-junior rowing national championships at the MEG & Centre here.
Of the 23 members in the Karnataka squad, 15 are from the civilian background.
Karnataka Amateur Rowing Association secretary G Somasekharappa says: “We usually had sportspersons from Army schools. Now, we’ve many kids from elite schools. More heartening is parents’ involvement in their children’s progress as also in improvising the sport.”
Asked about his rowing ambitions, Frank Anthony Public School’s Eeshan Krishnan says: “I’m a keen swimmer and I like watersports. One of my father’s friends suggested I try the sport. Then I started rowing, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I was a little plump; this helped me lose the flab. My shoulders hurt initially, but then there is no gain without pain.”
Eeshan’s mother Hema, a special educator, says rowing has made her 11-year-old son responsible and passionate about the sport. “He needs no alarm and is up at 5am to go to practice. His days are long, but he doesn’t complain. There was a time when I asked him to concentrate on studies because we weren’t sure about his future in rowing. But he was very clear: he wanted to take up the sport seriously and would balance studies and sport.”
Watching other rowers in action has inspired many, like Palak Agarwal, a student of Vidya Shilp Academy. Ditto with G Annapurna, 17, who took up the sport a year ago and is participating in the Challenger Sprint category. The second-year PU student from Narayana College swapped the athletics track with the water sport after watching her brother Tarun, 14, in action.
“I was an athlete for nine years and participated regularly in high jump. But I wasn’t tall enough to take my passion forward. I often watched my brother at practice and that’s when I thought I should also try. Once in the water, I was hooked to the sport. Since I was an athlete, the strenuous routine wasn’t difficult to embrace.”
From an individual sport to participating in team events like double scull or coxed fours, Annapurna says adjustment and understanding of the teammates is the key.
“Initially, it was difficult for me. But it’s a great way to build team spirit because you learn to sync with teammates both physically and mentally. The race plan tells us the course of our action in water. Since we’ve little time to communicate during the race, we depend on the rapport we share.”
Many parents feel the state association must proactively promote the sport.
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Bengaluru / by Manuja Veerappa, TNN / June 13th, 2015