R.Venkataramanan’s dedication and aptitude for the game will surely take him places. K. KEERTHIVASAN
In their honourable intention to keep the inveterate prankster occupied, R. Venkataramanan’s parents enrolled their only son in a Carnatic music class. The boy walked out of the class after a month. They put him in keyboard classes. He learnt the instrument only for a month. “I just didn’t like them as I couldn’t understand them,” he said. A chance encounter with paddler K. Srivatsa saw the (then) nine-year-old Venkataramanan develop a liking for table tennis. On a trial basis, he started to train at St. Bede’s and was quickly hooked on to table tennis.
Steady rise:
Once he came under the tutelage of coaches Christopher Anas and Nagam Prasad at the Lord’s Table Tennis Academy in 2002, Venkataramanan’s interest in, and knowledge of the sport grew. In his first season in the cadet section, Venkataramanan did reasonably well to finish in the top 10 in the State. The next year, he represented Tamil Nadu in the sub-junior Nationals where the team entered the final. “I knew then that I had a future in the sport,” he said.Currently ranked No.1 in the State in the junior category, Venkataramanan is training his eye on the junior National championships scheduled to be held in Surat in January next year. The teenager knows that practice makes one perfect. True to the idiom, he is training day in and day out for two hours each in the morning and evening.
“There were days where I used to use my (Kungfu) bat and keep hitting the ball every night for an hour, just for the heck of it. Now I know it’s practice and fitness that can make me win matches.” A big fan of super star Rajinikant, the St. John’s (Mandaveli) student said he watches cricket matches on TV and plays tennis ball cricket with his friends. “With a tight schedule, I hardly have time for anything else,” he said. An ardent follower of Ma Lin, one of the top players in the world, Venkataramanan is hungry to excel. There is absolutely nothing to stop the bubbly teenager from achieving his dreams, except his need for sponsorship. Maybe with that, his sponsorship needs will be also be met.
“With a tight schedule, I hardly have time for anything else.” he says
Source: The Hindu
R.Venkataramanan uses XIOM Omega II Asian Max on the forehand and backhand.
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