As a little boy, M. Harikrishnan regularly hit the headlines, winning one tournament after another in his age-group and above in the State table tennis circuit. And when he joined the Petroleum National Academy in Ajmer, many felt that he would go on and make it big in the national circuit.
Kerala has not seen a top-class male player after Kozhikode’s V. Srinivasan, who played the 1997 World Championship in Manchester and who was once the India No. 4, and the State was anxiously waiting for somebody to fill the vacuum.
At the Ajmer table tennis academy, Harikrishnan had everything going for him. He sparred with some of the country’s best youngsters, had foreign coaches to guide him and played in almost all the national-level sub-junior and junior tournaments. He was on the right road to big time.
Unwell and homesick
But one day, in his fifth year at the academy, he was hit by jaundice and during that phase, he felt very lonely and homesick. Nothing seemed to matter and he could not stomach anything at Ajmer. All that he wanted to do was to pack up, go home and be with loved ones.
So five years ago, when he was 17, the youngster left the Petroleum Academy and returned to Thiruvananthapuram.
Twinge of regret
Now, every time he looks back, there is a twinge of regret in Harikrishnan at the lost opportunity. Devesh Karia, the stylish left-hander, and Zubin Kumar were some of the players who passed out of the Ajmer academy and went on to dominate the national circuit
“Yes, sometimes, I do regret leaving the academy…it was a different level there altogether. And I was among the top eight seeds in the country in sub-junior tournaments around that time. Later, I was among the top 16 in juniors but things changed heavily after that.
Srinivasan's advice
Harikrishnan, who won the State men’s title recently in Kochi, feels that he is currently close to his best. A move from Thiruvananthapuram to Kochi’s Regional Sports Centre, where he is coached by Kolkata’s Santanu Roy and former Kerala star Rani Navaz, has lifted his game. The switch also offered him quality training partners like Vysakh Ravi and Rahul Binu Mathew.
During a recent chat with this writer, V. Srinivasan – a multiple State champion in Kerala and Tamil Nadu where he trained for three years, had said that players in Kerala would not hit it big in the national men’s circuit unless they move out to bigger States, like Chennai, and train in top clubs there.
Harikrishnan is not keen on leaving Kerala right now but he feels that special training by Chennai’s former national star Rajesh Ramanathan at the Regional Sports Centre has helped him immensely.
“Rajesh was a sparring partner for Olympian S. Raman in Chennai. He conducts 20 to 30-day camps occasionally and since he was coaching us in Kochi, he could give us some specialised attention,” explained the 22-year-old Harikrishnan.
“We will not get that sort of attention in Chennai as the coach will have to focus on his regular trainees there as well.”
Renewed enthusiasm
Training under Rajesh has helped Harikrishnan try out new tactics, especially with the service reception.
“For example, when a short ball came, he advised us to try the reverse backhand flick, which I felt confused opponents. He said good reception was a key to winning matches,” said the youngster, a first year M.Com student at the Sacred Heart College in Thevara.
Rajesh had also advised the player to practise all strokes during training and to stay cool, confident and focused during matches.
“I tend to get over-excited during matches and because of this, sometimes, I lose my focus. Now, that has changed to a good extent,” said Harikrishnan who has now won the State men’s title thrice.
Harikrishnan, who lost a few months with a leg injury late last year, now plans to play all the national circuit tournaments from next year and try to break his way through.
“I have achieved whatever there is to win in Kerala. Now, I’m going to seriously focus on the national circuit for the next two years and I know, I can do well.”
That confidence will certainly come in handy in the big world.
