The silver medallist in ‘Mr. Natural Olympia’ in 2015 is still searching for a decent sponsorship as he pursues his dream of winning the gold medal this time around.
That’s K. Venkatesan, the natural bodybuilder from Hyderabad. Natural? Well, he is a pure vegetarian, doesn’t even drink milk or take any milk products and is away from steroids abuse too.
Personal trainer
For someone who was the second best in the Mr. Natural Olympia in which 14 bodybuilders from 12 countries took part, this Hyderabadi, who is surviving on being a personal trainer for a few, is now invited by the International Natural Bodybuilding Association to compete in the World Cup to be held on November 4 in Los Angeles and the Natural Olympia International Multi Sports & Expo to be held on November 9 in Las Vegas.
Denny Kakos, president of INBA, insists on a communication to Venkatesan that the Association is dedicated to promoting drug-free bodybuilding and fitness competitions. “We test our athletes by the International Olympic Committee standards and accordingly, urine and blood samples are administered by the World Anti Doping Agency,” he said in the letter.
“The events will be challenging and I am preparing well to come back with a medal in each one of them. If everything goes well, I am sure to come back with at least one gold,” says a confident Venkatesan, who is into the sport for the last 15 years with distinction.
The 41-year-old former ‘Mr. South India’ and ‘Mr. India’ titles winner says the biggest challenge for him is to stay focussed by beating the jet lag. “Normally, the winning formula is to arrive in the host city one week in advance, hire a gym and tune your body accordingly. But lack of financial support is forcing me to be there on the day of the competition,” moans Venkatesan, a Madurai-born and now settled in the city.
As things stand, this gifted athlete is groping in the dark about getting financial support for his trip. But, as they say, hope is the eternal motivating factor to keep going.
