Even the dearth of facilities for beach volleyball here could not deter these players from winning accolades. The ‘Fab Four’, also represent the way some die-hard athletes continue to struggle despite lack of a proper system.
Hyderabad doesn’t have a beach anywhere in the vicinity. But, the makeshift beach volleyball court at Musheerabad Playground continues to produce quality players good enough to represent India at the highest level.
Asian Games in Incheon from September 19 will witness a rare feature of four Hyderabadis – Sara Ravinder Reddy (Postal), Kasi Viswanadha Raju (Income Tax), Tumpera Naresh and M.C.H.R. Krishnam Raju (both from Customs & Central Excise) – representing India in the beach volleyball competitions. While Ravinder and Kasi earned the privilege by virtue of being the national champions, Naresh and Krishnam Raju were the runners-up in the Chennai edition.
The ‘Fab Four’, also represent the way some die-hard athletes continue to struggle despite lack of a proper system.
“It is very difficult to sustain your interest in the sport for you are not sure of what sort of encouragement you get,” says 34-year-old Ravinder, who along with Kasi will be featuring in his second Asian Games.
Significantly, these beach volley ball players have no coach and train on their own; thanks to the efforts of national volleyball referee M.B. Narsimloo, hailing from the locality.
“Our competitors have long-term training and facilities. You can imagine how difficult it will be for us to adjust to the playing conditions in Incheon where you play on the natural beach with strong winds. It demands high levels of endurance, skills and a different kind of preparation altogether,” the four say.
Ravinder and Kasi won the senior national title last week in Chennai as wild card entrants because the Telangana Volleyball Association is yet to get the affiliation from the Volleyball Federation of India.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Hyderabad / V. V. Subrahmanyam / Hyderabad – August 02nd, 2014