SIVAKUMAR: INDIAN HERO IN CYCLE POLO
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| Sivakumar, Thiruvananthapuram |
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Cycle polo is not a popular sport in India. But when India won the World Championship in England with a last minute goal by captain Sivakumar, it created a lot of exuberance among the expatriates there. Such was his contribution in that match that he scored 5 out of the 8 goals scored by India.
Sivakumar
got attracted to the sport while studying in Boys High School, Karamana,
Thiruvananthapuram. The first
inspiration was his elder brother who used to play for KELTRON.
From
then onwards, it was a saga of achievements.
4 times he played in Junior Nationals and during this time he was
thrice adjudged the best player. In
1995 he was selected to State senior team and that same year Kerala won
the championship. Since then for the last 7 years, Kerala are the champions.
In the senior nationals too he was the best player on 4 occasions
and the top scorer thrice.
In
1996 he was selected to the Indian team.
The team won the 1st international tournament in which
Sivakumar played. Since then the Indian team has won in international
tournaments thrice, the latest being world championship.
An
optimist and a man of humility, he hopes the Arjuna award will come his
way one day, just like the G.V.Raja award in 1997.
“Can
talent be ignored? Let us
see,” hopes Sivakumar, an employee in Motor Vehicles Department.
Courtesy: Pradeep Pillai (text), Rajan M.Thomas (photo), Malayala Manorama, March 18, 2002
Contributed by: Administrator
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