Big-made Johnson Selvakumar crunches himself into a position at the wheel of a silvery-grey micro car. Catching my amused smile, he says, “Look, I am proud to own this buggy. I come from a humble background and being able to drive a four-wheeler with my family is a luxury I had never imagined I would have. See, during my school days, I could not afford a pair of shoes, let alone a pair of sports shoes. After that, God has been extremely kind to me.”
With a faraway look, John (as he is known to friends) continues, “Together, Santhome High School and St. Bedes have been a cradle of sporting activity in South Chennai. Joining Santhome High School was a great blessing. I have always had an athletic build, and I took to sports. Cricket was too crowded then and I preferred to take the road less travelled. My practice jumps at the long jump pit caught the attention of my mentor A. J. D’Souza who had an eye for spotting talent. He took me under his wing and he felt 110m hurdles and middle-distance running would suit me. Nutrition, health, fitness and training were his priorities. Training was simulated on the lines of actual athletic meets. As a result, I would not have any butterflies in my stomach, while settling down on the mark during track events. If my school provided the initial thrust, Loyola College helped my sports career take off. Opportunity in the form of Mr. Sathyaseelan, the physical director, knocked on my door. I was offered a scholarship on the basis of my sporting abilities. I won four gold medals in the inter university meet, a unique record that stood unbroken for long.”
John has always been aware of the power of healthy competition.
“Though we were in different sports T. Kumaran (cricketer) and I served as pace setters to each other. We had a friendly rivalry going and would challenge each other on who would don the Indian colours first. I represented India at the ITC international meet under the captaincy of the legendary P. T. Usha. Subsequently, Kumaran was part of the Indian cricket team to tour West Indies.”
His godfather and mentor, late A.J.D’souza successfully ran the Don Bosco athletic club and the baton has been passed on to Johnson and he trains underprivileged children. Employed with ICF at Chennai, he finds it difficult to juggle office work and the training academy and there is also the additional pressure of having to attend to the needs of his family, but he manages the juggling act. “Yes,it is challenging sir, but if, at the end of the day, I could produce one Olympian gold medallist from this crop of youngsters, I would have achieved my dream. I should not regret not having tried hard enough to produce one,” says Johnson as he prepares for another drill.
(T.S. Manohar is a resident of Sanjeevi Street)
