Pune :

For a Sania Mirza or Leander Paes, combining with a foreign partner is a part and parcel of the game. But the trend isn’t very popular in badminton.

Though it started as an experiment for doubles specialist Ashwini Ponnappa, the Karnataka shuttler is hopeful of her newly-formed partnership with Russian men’s player Vladmir Ivanov.

Playing with Ivanov will not only add another dimension to her perspective, but also help do better in women’s doubles with Jwala Gutta.

“With Ivanov, I will learn new training methods, techniques, which are followed in that part of the world. It will also help me do well with Jwala in women’s doubles, which is my pet event,” said the 2011 World Championship bronze winner.

Ponnappa, who has played with Ivanov in three tournaments so far, says finding the right mixed doubles partner is a tough task.

“It is a trial-and-error thing until you find the right partner,” said the 25-year-old player, who has previously partnered compatriot Tarun Kona.

For Ponnappa, the idea struck after her stint in the Indian Badminton League (IBL) last year. “You can say that the IBL experience of playing with Joachim Fischer has been the best for me so far. I learnt a lot while playing with Joachim. It made me open up to the idea of having a foreign partner for international meets,” the Bangalorean said.

With Ivanov, Ponnappa is aiming to improve her mixed doubles world ranking. “I have played three tournaments together with Ivanov and hopefully we will participate in more, next year. Improving on the mixed doubles rankings would be priority,” she said.

Though the association is allowed in Super Series, World Championships and other open championships, she will not be able to carry it to the Olympics or the Asian Games.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> Sports> Badminton / by Tushar Dutt, TNN / November 15th, 2014

Basketball is a very popular sport in the International sporting scene and it’s a game which demands speed, ability and stamina. Our city’s women’s basketball player P.U. Navaneetha has been a outstanding performer for Karnataka in the senior and junior levels. She has represented India in the FIBA Asia Youth Cup and has also attended the Indian Junior camp. She was recently awarded the prestigious ‘Ekalavya Award’ for her feats in the sport at a grand function held at Vidhana Soudha last week. She is our ‘Star This Week.’

Navaneetha, 20, is the daughter of P.P. Udhay Kumar and P.U. Girija, residents of Suntikoppa, Kodagu. A 1st year MA student at Teresian College for Women, Mysuru, and a product of the Department of Youth & Empowerment Services (DYES, Mysuru), Navaneetha has been performing consistently in National and State basketball scene.

Encouraged by her parents, she joined Sports School, Vidyanagar and later on joined Sports Hostel, Mysuru, in 2006. Initially she was coached by B.S. Girish, SAK Basketball coach and presently she is being trained by DYES & SAK Basketball coach M.B. Patil at DYES, Mysuru.

A forward, Navaneetha is an attacking player and impresses with her skilful play. She began her career by representing Karnataka in the School Nationals held at Punjab in 2008 and from then on has never looked back. She has represented the State in the women’s Nationals, Youth Nationals in 2009 and 2010. In 2011, she represented the State in the Senior and Junior Nationals in Delhi.

She represented the Mysore University in the Inter-University Championships in 2011-12 at Kannur and has been a regular in the team from then on.

In 2009-10, her excellent play in the Nationals earned her the Indian cap when she donned Indian colours in the 1st FIBA Asia U-16 Championships held at Pune. She also took part in the NBA All India Tournament held at Delhi in 2001-12.

She took part in the Junior Indian and Youth Indian camp held at Deli and Tamil Nadu respectively. She represented Karnataka in the Federation Cup held at Gujarat in 2013-14.

Encouraged by her parents, coaches, DYES, Teresian College and the Mysore University, Navaneetha intends to work hard and represent the country in the senior level

source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> Sports News / Sunday , November 16th, 2014

Ashwini Nachappa was one of the most promising Indian athletes during the 1980s. She came into the limelight after she beat P.T Usha on two occasions. She was referred as India’s FloJo due to her agility on the track.

Ashwini represented India in three South Asian Federation games – Nepal,1984(she won two silver medals), Bangladesh,1986(she won two silver medals) and Pakistan, 1988 (she won three gold medals). She won a silver in the 4 X 100m relay at the 1990 Beijing Asian Games. She was also part of the Indian contingent for the World Championships in 1987 in Rome and 1991 in Tokyo.

Ashwini received the prestigious Arjuna award for her contribution to Indian athletics. The Karnataka girl forayed into films and won Nandi award for best debut actress for the film Aswani, her own story. However, her achievements on the track are not known to many.

She is a social worker, educationist and has also built a school. She is currently the president of the Bangalore Urban District Athletics Association.

source: http://www.sportskeeda.com / Sports Keeda / Home> Athletics> Analysis / by Jai Prakash / November 10th, 2014

Harinderpal Singh Sandhu ushered in a change of guard, dethroning Saurav Ghosal in the final to clinch his first title at the senior National squash championships.

“If it had to be anybody to beat me, I am happy it is him,” remarked the latter after losing the men’s final in 74 minutes. Harinderpal won in five sets, 11-2, 11-9, 9-11, 8-11, 11-9.

Two sets up, Harinder found himself at the receiving end when Saurav got into the groove to wrest the third and fourth and take the title clash into the decider. “I committed a schoolboy error,” he said. “Saurav does not allow you to get back after such mistakes,” he said.

Winning the decider against the champion demanded mental preparation. “I was ready to grab the chance. It is about restricting my thinking to within four walls of the court and shutting out anything happening outside.”

Harinder led 9-0 in the first, 4-0 in the second, and did not allow the loss of next two sets to disrupt concentration in the decider.

The newly-crowned champion flew out on Saturday night for the Asian Beach Games at Phuket, along with Kush Kumar for company.

Joshna Chinappa pocketed her 13th title, blasting past Sachika Ingale 11-3, 11-3, 11-6 in just 22 minutes.

Commenting on the competitors, Chinappa said: “Playing the pro circuit is the only way forward for these young girls, instead of playing the junior circuit.”

The results (finals):

Men: Harinderpal Singh Sandhu (TN) bt Saurav Ghosal (TN) 11-2, 11-9, 9-11, 8-11, 11-9. Women: Joshna Chinappa (TN) bt Sachika Ingale (UP) 11-3, 11-3, 11-6. Professionals: Parminder Singh (Del)) bt Parthiban A (TN) 11-8, 8-11, 11-8, 13-11.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Sport> Other Sports / by Nandakumar Marar / Mumbai – November 09th, 2014

What is common between Uthappa, Rahane and Raina? They all went to Pravin Amre to get their act together. Derek Abraham talks to former Test player from Mumbai to find out what makes him the most sought after batting coach in India today

Like any true-blue Kodava, he is known to live life king size. Hailing from Coorg, the picturesque south Karnataka district which uber-rich coffee planters call home, Robin Uthappa is as cool as they come.

Supremely talented and fiercely proud, his bravado with the bat is more exciting than assuring. That said, the right-hander is often accused of being laid-back. Perhaps, his not-so-impressive returns in 41 ODI appearances, spread over over eight years, are to blame.

Somewhere at the back of his mind, Pravin Amre harboured similar thoughts. During the 2012 IPL season, he conveyed the same to Uthappa. “You are not working hard enough. You must come out of your comfort zone,” Amre, then assistant coach of the now-defunct Pune Warriors India, told the team’s superstar player. Taken aback, Uthappa retorted, “How can you say that? I know I am working very hard.” Amre’s reply was even blunter. “Whenever you decide to work harder, give me a shout,” he said.

The IPL was over before anyone knew it and Uthappa went on a holiday. “One day, I got a call from Spain. It was Robin. He admitted he wasn’t putting in the hard yards,” Amre recalls. He promptly told Uthappa to enjoy his trip.

A month later, Uthappa touched down in Mumbai. His first meeting with Amre turned was an eye-opener. “I told him was to shed 16 kg off his upper body,” Amre says. How did Uthappa go about it? “I am just a batting coach. So his fitness isn’t my concern. He has a team of dieticians and trainers. All I wanted was a fitter, hungrier Robin,” Amre says.

Three months after that ‘top-heavy’ conversation, Uthappa returned in top shape. The ensuing two-year period saw the 28-year-old force his way back into the ODI side after six years, excel for Karnataka on the domestic circuit and play a key role in the fortunes of Kolkata Knight Riders. Nowadays, when the selectors sit down to pick a side, Uthappa features in their discussion.

Uthappa may be the first, but he is not the only one seeking Amre’s help. Simply put, the 46-year-old Mumbaikar, who happens to be from the stable of a certain Ramakant Achrekar, is the country’s most sought-after batting consultant today. Technically sound, knowledgeable, practical, approachable and a great manager of men, Amre also counts Ajinkya Rahane, Suresh Raina, Naman Ojha, Dinesh Karthik among his wards.

Player to coach: the journey
So when did he get bitten by the coaching bug? “Nothing was planned. It happened by default,” Amre says in a tête-à-tête at the iconic Shivaji Park Gymkhana in Mumbai.
The former India batsman happens to be the president of the club that produced him and 20 other Test cricketers. As we sit down in the swanky conference room on the first floor, Amre, sporting a slick Roger Federer cap and training gear, points to a framed picture of Shivaji Park. “It was taken in the 1950s,” he says. “This is where we are sitting,” he points to the black and white photo, probably shot from a chopper. A few hundred metres away, at the Bengal Club, he runs Amre Coaching Clinic where 30-odd Under-14 boys ply their trade.

“Not many know that I played provincial cricket for Boland, South Africa,” Amre says. Incidentally, he had played the first of his 11 Tests in that country. His debut, in Durban, was memorable to say the least. “That 103 I scored against Allan Donald, Brett Schultz, Brian McMillan, Meyrick Pringle and Omar Henry in 1992 was the highlight of my career,” he adds. Predictably, Amre fell in love with the country. “Not only did I play domestic cricket there, but I also cleared the coaching and umpires exam,” he reveals. “Despite years of isolation, the South Africans showed us what they were made of. This fascinated me. And that’s why I decided to understand their cricket structure.”

When Amre returned home in 2001, he was in for a rude shock. The BCCI categorically told him that it doesn’t “recognise” the South African system. “So I had to do undergo the Level II coaching programme all over again (Test players are exempt from giving the Level I exam). And when it was time to appear for the Level III exam, the Mumbai Cricket Association told me I couldn’t represent them as Chandrakant Pandit and Lalchand Rajput had taken the slots. So, I requested Brijesh Patel, head of the National Cricket Academy, to consider me. Thankfully, he agreed,” Amre says. And so, in 2002, Amre and some others like Rajput, Pandit, Venkatesh Prasad and Robin Singh passed the exam with flying colours. “I had never studied so hard in college. The curriculum was vast, but I did my best,” Amre says.

Amre then started an academy at Shivaji Park Gymkhana. “I trained players like Siddhesh Lad, Kevin Almeida, Shardul Thakur, Harmeet Singh and Gaurav Jathar. A few years later, the MCA asked me to if I wanted to coach the Ranji Trophy team. I agreed.” The period from 2006-07 to 2010-11 saw Amre guide Mumbai to three Ranji Trophy triumphs.

Amre, who never wanted to become a coach because he was “short-tempered”, doesn’t know how it all fell into place. Perhaps, Achrekar was an inspiration. “Achrekar Sir is a very strong, a very different personality. I can never be like him. He is a father figure to his players. He is just too great,” Amre concedes.

Why does he say so? “Listen to this incident. Everyone knows Sir has five daughters. He also fathered a son. But the poor infant died the same evening he was born. The next day, Sir was about 30 minutes late to practice,” Amre recalls. “Then, he went about his business. To him, cricket is paramount. Your personal life is secondary. As a father, I know what Sir must have gone through. And believe me, I heard this story from my Shivaji Park seniors many years later.”

For someone who tallied less than 1,000 runs in international cricket, Amre agrees he could have done a lot more as a batsman. “That’s why I feel happy when a player I coach scores a hundred. Look, when I was a player, my God was my godfather. I had a first-class average of 87 when I first played for India. But things didn’t turn out they way I would have liked them to.”

Team coach to personal coach
After spending five years with the Mumbai team, Amre went on a long break. “It got monotonous,” he says. “As someone who had coached Mumbai with great success, I could have gone to another state. But I decided to stay put in Mumbai. I knew I had to reinvent myself as a coach.”

Amre did just that. For starters, he collected as many videos as he could and watched them, one by one. “Don Bradman, Garfield Sobers, Graeme Pollock, Barry Richards, Viv Richards, Sunil Gavaskar, Sachin Tendulkar… I watched them all,” Amre says. So what was the underlying theme? “What I understood is that all great batsmen have something in common. Their stance, back-lift and approach may be different, but the moment they prepare to face the ball, they somehow get in line. In other words, they offer the full face of the bat to every delivery. That’s why they are great.”

As Amre delved deeper and deeper, he realised that a coach’s job was more than just giving throwdowns and finalising the playing XI. “One must find the root cause (of a problem or defect). A coach must be like a doctor,” he says. Asked why decided to play ‘doctor’ to Uthappa, Amre comes up with a straightforward answer. “I thought he was not justifying his talent.”

Amre spent three years watching videos, studying bio-mechanics, reading and devising papers and presentations. “There are three aspects to a players’ game: physical shape, mental shape and skills. Most players have two boxes ticked. A coach’s job is to ensure a player gets everything right,” Amre says

When Amre decided to take up Project Uthappa, he changed “everything” from the batsman’s stance and grip to back-lift and head position. And he also cautioned his ward that, initially, his performances would suffer. “Are you ready to go down and then up,” Amre told Uthappa. He was referring to the career graph that would witness a dip after so many fundamental changes. “Sir, I have tried everything. This is it. Now, I want you to take me to the next level,” Uthappa conceded.

Soon, Amre went about his business of “dismantling” Uthappa the batsman. “His grip was bottom-handed and locked. I asked him to ‘unlock it’ so that he could hit the ball straighter,” Amre says. “I then worked on his stance, footwork, shoulder position, head position. In short, I changed him from head to toe. It was course correction all the way through.”

How receptive was Uthappa? “Look, this is a science. The results are showing only now. Ever since we started working, people critcised me for ruining him. But Robin knew of the ‘down and up’ we had spoken of. He was quietly confident. Today, he is batting better than ever before.”

Amre says he has made Uthappa bat in different cities, on all types of wickets and against all kinds of bowlers. “One has to have cricketing smartness. You can’t play all your shots on every wicket. You may be technically sound, but you have also got to be smart,” he says.

Helping Rahane
Amre knows Rahane since this Under-17 days. It is during Amre’s time that Rahane scored 1,000-plus runs season after season. “Do you remember his Test debut?,” Amre asks. For the record, Rahane earned his maiden Test cap against Australia in New Delhi last year. India won the series 4-0, but Rahane had a forgettable outing. “He was all over the place. He got hit on the head before a rash shot cost him his wicket. It didn’t take the media too long to brand him a failure. They conveniently forgot that he had a first-class average of nearly 70 then.”

Soon, Amre took Rahane under his wings. “I had to help him with his technique. He was getting out to the incoming ball. On some occasions, he was getting caught behind. Today, he is one of the best batsmen in India,” Amre says proudly. “I remember taking him to Sachin’s place. The master told him to target the next five years. Once you play for five years, you can think of playing for 10 years. And automatically, you will have 10,000 runs under your belt.”

Rahane, who has never missed a practice session in all these years, spent 19 Tests on the bench before making his debut. “You have no idea of the number of people, including IPL franchise officials, who told me that Rahane is not ‘international material’,” Amre says. Guess they must be feeling silly now.

“If your technique is strong, nobody can stop you from scoring runs in all formats. People used to tell Ajinkya that he must bat like Virat Kohli. But I told him that God has made you like this for a reason. You can’t be Virat. So, be Ajinkya. Be the one who can bat in any situation. Today, he is just that,” Amre says.

During the World Twenty20 earlier this year, Amre employed a few baseball techniques to help Rahane hit the ball longer, harder. “It’s all about bio-mechanics. Tennis, baseball, cricket and a number of sports follow similar principles like hand-eye coordination, focus. Baseball players use their core muscles — abdomen and back — to generate power. I made some adjustments to his back-lift and he started hitting the ball better,” Amre says.

Ojha, Raina and Karthik
Amre has coached Ojha and Raina at Air India. Of late, Ojha has been dealing in double hundreds at the India ‘A’ level. Again, that is Amre at work.

“I never tell a player I want to work with him. I wait for the player to approach me. But one day, I told Naman there was a problem in his game. But he never bothered to check with me. A couple of years later, he came back,” Amre says.

When Ojha approached him, Amre put him through the same grind and made him a better player. “There wasn’t much wrong with Naman’s game. His technique was good; so was his mindset. He came across as a simple boy who was very committed, hardworking,” Amre says. Did the wicketkeeper in Ojha ever bemoan the presence of that chap called Dhoni? “I told him not to think of any competition. Just do your thing and your chance will come,” Amre told him. But for how long? “I gave him the example of Michael Hussey. And I told him that the Test cap is worth waiting for.”

So what is it that works for Amre? “The fact that I got a hundred on debut in Durban gets me respect. I guess the players believe in me. After all, there must be something in my technique and my template that seems right. There are several others who are more knowledgeable than me, but I have something called experience,” Amre says. “Whenever I get time, I discuss cricket with Sachin. Whenever I have a doubt, I call him. Like I said, I have taken Ajinkya and even Robin to him.”

Amre holds Raina in high regard. “Let’s go back to the 2011 World Cup. Yusuf Pathan was picked ahead of Raina. It was only after the group-stage matches that the team turned to Raina. Naturally, he was very low. I told him to wait for his chance,” Amre says. For the record, Gary Kirsten, the former India coach, maintains that Raina won India the World Cup with his brilliant displays against Australia and Pakistan.

Over the years, Raina has drawn flak for throwing away his chances in the Test arena. That he has a problem with the short ball is common knowledge. “But why don’t you also say that he is the second-best finisher in Team India?” Amre retorts. “Look at the way he is batting now. Do you remember how he played in the ODI series in England this year?”

Coaching, Amre says, is all about having faith in each other. “I have to be accountable. If my player fails, then it’s my failure too. People will blame me for ruining someone’s career. I know what I am doing. All my wards have got their basics right. I can happily say that.”

Not surprisingly, Amre is open to coaching India some day. “Why not?” he says.

This following episode throws light on the emphasis Amre puts on mental strength. Abhay Poyarekar, a retired customs officer and Amre’s relative, raided huge quantities of RDX at the Mumbai port in 1993. The underworld troubled him for eight years. He was provided with ‘Z’ security and won the President’s medal for bravery. “That RDX was meant to destroy Mumbai during Ganeshotsav. I took Ajinkya and Robin to this man. To me, he is a real hero. He explained how the dons harassed him and attacked his family for years together,” Amre says. Till date, Rahane gets goose bumps thinking of Poyarekar and his heroism. Cricket, after all, is just a game.

AMRE’S WARDS

Robin Uthappa
They got together two years ago. Amre changed everything in Uthappa’s game — grip, stance, head and shoulder positions, back-lift. The results are showing. Amre flies to watch him to every part of the country. During the off-season, Uthappa rents grounds by the hour in Mumbai or Bangalore. Amre joins him here too

Ajinkya Rahane
The two have known each other for over 10 years. Amre honed Rahane’s technique during his time as Mumbai coach. Now, he has helped his ward go to the ‘next’ level. He has even contributed to Rahane’s mental toughness

Naman Ojha
Ojha, Amre says, is a very hardworking lad. What he lacked was confidence. Amre gave him the example of Michael Hussey, who scored more than 10,000 runs before earning a Test cap.

Suresh Raina
Amre came to Raina’s rescue when he was feeling low during the 2011 World Cup. Yusuf Pathan was picked ahead of him. Amre told Raina to wait for his chance. Raina came good in the quarters and semis. Today, he is the second-best finisher in Team India

Dinesh Karthik
Amre took Karthik under his wings only recently. A talented wicketkeeper-batsman, Karthik approached Amre after he saw the positive impact he has had on the above players

source: http://www.dnaindia.com / DNA / Home> Sport / by Derek Abraham / Place: Mumbai, Agency: DNA / Sunday – November 09th, 2014

Success at home for youngster as overnight leader Abhishek Jha falters in final round

Abhishek Jha suffered a severe bout of final-round nerves while a tenacious S Chikkarangappa scripted a sensational fightback to emerge champion in the inaugural Take Solutions India Masters here on Saturday.

Leading by a whopping six shots overnight, Jha appeared completely beset by stage fright as he reserved his worst for the last, carding a disastrous three-over 75 to end runner-up in painful fashion in front of his home crowd at the Eagleton Golf Resort.

The crowd, whose loyalties were divided all day with two homegrown boys slugging it out for supremacy in the Asian Development Tour event, had plenty to cheer about as well with Chikkarangappa carding a brilliant five-under 67 to total 270 and score an out-of-nowhere two-shot victory.

“I won my first junior and amateur titles here but I’ve always come short in a pro tournament,” said a delighted Chikkarangappa, watched by his parents, after pocketing $12,250 (approx Rs 7.5 lakh). “To finally get a pro win at your home course is something amazing. I could not sleep until 2.30 in the morning because of the injury I suffered in the third round. But all that pain has vanished with this victory that I’d been dreaming of.”

Although just 21 and six years younger to Jha, Chikkarangappa is miles ahead of his practice partner and friend in terms of top-level experience and that was what proved to be the difference in the end. While Chikkarangappa conjured all his experience in rising to the challenge, Jha, playing as a final-round leader for the first time in four years, was totally overwhelmed by the occasion, his game collapsing amidst the tension he brought upon himself.

Things started to unfold as early as in the third hole itself when Chikkarangappa nailed a 25-footer birdie and Jha three-putted as the lead was cut short to four. That poor putt seemed to have an immediate bearing as Jha found the woods on the par-5 fourth hole, from where he could only bogey at best.

Chikkarangappa then birdied the eighth hole, draining a 10-footer as he turned in just two strokes behind Jha. Both birdied the 10th before Jha dropped a shot again on the 12th, the par-putt agonisingly lipping out. Chikkarangappa brought himself level with Jha on the 15th after pulling off a stunning 35-foot birdie putt.

That scorcher appeared to knock the stuffing out of Jha, who picked up a double bogey on the 16th. He drove the ball next to a banyan tree, hit it to the greenside rough with his second attempt before duffing it on the third. He then chipped way over the pin, two-putting from there as Chikkarangappa, aware the title was just handed over to him on a platter, coolly parred to take a two-shot lead.

Chikkarangappa birdied the penultimate hole and although Jha too matched his friend, it was way too late as the former completed a brilliant win.
“I wish I could play the final round again,” said a disappointed Jha. “I just suffered from final round blues. It’s been a four years, since I played as leader and I just didn’t know how to pace myself. I just did everything wrong. It’s a big lesson for me.”

Leading scores (after 72 holes, Indians unless mentioned): 270: S Chikkarangappa (64, 70, 69, 67); 272: Abhishek Jha (66, 66, 65, 75); 274: Nils Floren (Swe, 71, 62, 74, 67); 275: C Muniyappa (69, 68, 72, 66), Niall Turner (Ire, 67, 70, 70, 68); 276: SSP Chowrasia (74, 68, 69, 65), R Murthy (71, 68, 64, 73); 277: Pijit Petchkasem (Tha, 65, 73, 70, 69); 278: Khalin Joshi (67, 69, 71, 71), Deepinder Singh Kullar (67, 69, 71, 71), M Dharma (67, 71, 69, 71).

source: http://www.deccanherald.com / Deccan Herald / Home> Sports / by Sidney Kiran / Bangalore – DHNS, November 02nd, 2014

Chennai :

Injuries are not always career stalling, though it’s an aberration than rule. While many eventually concede to the overwhelming reality that their career would never be revived, some just pick themselves and return recalibrated.

There wouldn’t be a better example in Indian sport than Sachin Tendulkar, who in his career that spanned a remarkable quarter century defied intermittent spells of career-threatening injuries. Joshna Chinappa is no Tendulkar, whichever sporting yardstick you measure them with, but like the master she has turned a career-threatening injury into a springboard to rediscovering herself.

It was in mid 2012 that she sprained her ankle midway through a match. She was stretchered off, and the doctors confirmed her worst nightmare that she wouldn’t be able to play the game she had given her heart, body and soul. An anterior cruciate ligament seemed to have laid her path out of the game.

The World No 21 returned to India heartbroken. “A lot of doctors, even in the US, told me that I won’t be able to play squash again. I couldn’t even think of it. All my dreams, aspiration and hopes seemed over. I didn’t know quite what to do and I used to cry a lot every day. It was the toughest phase of my life,” she said.

But misery, sometimes, has the strange power to embolden you, and Joshna decided to fire-fight the cruel destiny. “I was 26 and I knew it was now or never. If I don’t recover now, I may never play squash again. I didn’t want to regret later in life. So I decided to give one last shot. The knee was operated and the rehabilitation began,” she recounted.

Suddenly, life, despite the screeching pain on her ankle, turned more pleasant. And a chance meeting with former national champion Ritwik Bhattacharya turned her life around. “I was doing my rehab in Mumbai when I bumped into Ritwik and his wife. I told them about my situation. They infused the belief that I could come back stronger. To convince me, they had to counsel, cajole and event taunt me.”

Gradually, life limped back to normalcy. “It took me almost 10 months to get back on to the court. But I didn’t hurry my return. It was like starting the career all over again and gradually my movements became more fluent. The confidence was back. But in the first six months, I kept losing. But I was just happy to be back on the court,” she reflected.

In hindsight, the injury proved career-defining. “Now I feel it’s the best thing to have happened to me. Maybe, it gave me a much-needed break. It made me value my life and career all the more,” she said.

Maybe, it’s this newfound positivity that has revitalised her game. Subsequently, she went on to script history with Dipika Pallikal in the Commonwealth Games, besides the team silver in Asian Games and achieving her career-high ranking of 19 in April.

Joshna’s story can motivate injury-plagued athletes, but it comes with a statutory warning: only for those strong in mind.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Sport / by Sandeep G. / November 01st, 2014