The striking contrast of the lifestyles of some of the big, international achievers in the world of sports from the Telangana State can well be a gentle reminder of how one can dream big and complement with the desired efforts to realise them too. How else can one explain the success of the visually impaired Gulja Madhu from Pedda Adiserlapalli village in Nalgonda district being a member of the 2014 World Cup cricket winning team (for blind) in South Africa?
Madhu, who first lost his right eye when he was dabbling with an arrow and soon lost the other because of infection, stands out as a perfect example of triumph over tragedy. Breaking barriers without actually even seeing them, literally!
The amazing show of Sania Mirza, Telangana Brand Ambassador who arguably has put up the best performance by athlete from the State with a string of unbelievable achievements, is some sort of a lesson of how one can ward off adversity on different fronts and stay focussed on the goals on hand in the sports arenas.
Sania ensured that 2014 remained memorable when she not only won her third Grand Slam title – the US Open mixed doubles crown – but even the mixed doubles gold in the Asiad, capped a glorious year winning the prestigious WTA Tour Doubles final partnering her good friend Cara Black and then signed off being a member of the high-profile Indian Aces which won the inaugural edition of ITPL.
Cricketer Mithali Raj was not far behind leading India to a magnificent Test win in England. “On a personal note, when I played the last Test (eight years ago) and I got to know we wouldn't be playing any more it was sad for me,” she says and adds, . “As a cricketer, you want to play more Test matches as it will challenge all your endurance levels. It's challenging but I am very happy that before I hang up my boots I got to win another Test.”
It was woman power from Hyderabad in the forefront of Indian sport as Saina Nehwal (now training in Bengaluru), P. V. Sindhu and Gutta Jwala (in badminton), Nikhat Zareen (boxing ) and Akula Sreeja (table tennis) made an impact.
The tall and lanky 19-year-old Sindhu may have just won the Macau Open title but her bronze in the World championship, the Uber Cup, Commonwealth Games and the Asian Games were proof that she remained one of the feared players in the circuit.
The experienced Saina proved a point or two when she won the India Gold Prix in January, then the Australia Super Series and then the most important of all – the China Open. Her semi-final appearance in the Dubai BWF Super Series Finals was another high-point this year.
From the juniors category, the Nizamabad girl Nikhat Zareen has been a star performer in the ‘ring’ winning the gold in the third Nations Cup International championship in Novi Sad in January and continues to be a medal hope at the Olympic podium in Brazil in 2016.
One of the unobtrusive performers from Hyderabad has been the 15-year-old Akula Sreeja, a product of Global Table Tennis Academy, who represented India in the 2014 World junior championship besides winning quite a few medals along with other talented youngsters like Naina Jaiswal and S. Fidel R. Snehit.
The gentlemen who left an indelible impression included shuttler Kidambi Srikanth, winner of China Open, Ambati Rayudu (cricket), K. Srinivas (World Cup carrom champion), the youngest Indian rower Mohammed Ahmed (bronze medallist in his maiden Asiad appearance).
The one from Hyderabad who can take the world badminton by storm is the dazzling Kidambi Srikanth. Beating the irrepressible genius and five-time world champion Lin Dan in the China Open final is a dream finish as the 21-year-old Hyderabadi happened to the first Indian male shuttler to win a Super Series title. This should only spur him to look for even bigger results and this was evident by his last four appearance in the Dubai BWF Super Series Finals where he lost to the reigning world champion Chen Long.
Though none of the Hyderabad players in Ranji Trophy come anywhere near a slot even in the Zonal championship, Ambati Rayudu (now playing for Baroda in Ranji) ensured a permanent place in the India one-day squad with a blistering century against Sri Lanka. A simple case of coming of age indeed!
The 20-year-old Mohammad Ahmed has every reason to look back with pride after winning the bronze medal in the Asian Games rowing competitions in his very first appearance. The other rowers from Hyderabad who won bronze medals included Sawarn Singh and Dushyant besides the 2010 Asiad Gold medallist Bajrang Lal Thakkar.
In carrom, K. Srinivas was crowned the men’s singles World Cup champion, only the second Hyderabadi to achieve this wonderful feat after S. Appoorwa clinched the women’s singles title a few years ago.
On the administrative front, Capt P.V.K. Mohan has become the first-ever Hyderabadi to head an international sports body when he was elected president of the international billiards and snooker federation and the former India off-spinner N. Shivlal Yadav has become the first-ever president (though interim as per Supreme Court orders) of the BCCI.
Sadly, team sports in the State suffer due to so many legal disputes involving the Sports Associations.
