A captain often leads by example, and M Vairamuthu did that at the 49th Senior National Tennikoit Championship. The Tamil Nadu tennikoit team won the team and individual gold medals under his leadership. “It feels great. In the team final, we defeated Puducherry 3-2 in a close game. And in the individual singles, I defeated Rajasekharan of Kerala,” said Vairamuthu, who bagged the Senior Singles gold medal for the fourth time.
“Both the team and individual medals were tough to get. Team coordination was crucial in team events. While in the individual event, consistency and the ability to raise the bar as the tournament progressed were important,” he said.
The individual singles semifinal match against Kiran Kumar of Karnataka was the toughest, according to him. “He (Kiran) is an experienced player and a national silver medallist for the last four years. The national team’s event final was also tough. At one stage, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry were tied at 2-2. I scored the deciding point, which led to Tamil Nadu beating Puducherry 3-2. The Puducherry team had a clear plan to reach the final and win the trophy, but the Tamil Nadu team managed to overcome their strategy,” he recalled.
The past few tournaments were fruitful but haven’t been without challenges for Vairamuthu. “In the last four National championships, I have won three gold medals and one bronze medal in individual singles. The bronze medal from last year was due to an ankle twist in the semifinals, which motivated me to win gold this year.” It was in the 5th World Tennikoit Championship held in Pretoria, South Africa, that he bagged the bronze medal. To achieve his fourth gold medal, he dedicated himself to the sport. “I trained every morning from 5.30 to 8 and evening from 5.30 to 7.45. This consistent practice helped me achieve my fourth gold,” he said.
He credits his coach, P Mariappan, a two-time World Championship bronze medallist and captain of the 2018 World Cup Indian tennikoit team. “Mariappan sir’s experience, techniques, and leadership qualities greatly contributed to my victory.”
Mariappan has been driving several success stories from the Hatsun Tennikoit Academy, Thiruthangal, in Virudhunagar district. The academy has been instrumental in Tamil Nadu’s consistent show in the nationals. “This academy encourages top talent from rural areas to exhibit their skills to the world. Sports scholarships are provided to national and international medal-winning students, covering their transportation expenses for competitions and offering encouragement after wins. S Maheshwari, another promising player, won a gold and bronze medal at the fifth Tennikoit World Cup in South Africa in October 2023,” said Vairamuthu.
Listing the achievements, he added that students from here have won gold medals for the Tamil Nadu team every year across all three categories of tennikoit: sub-junior, junior, and senior. Four students are currently working in the Central Government Postal Department (India Post) under the sports quota for tennikoit. More than 30 students have gained admission to engineering colleges through sports quota, and one student has secured a medical seat.
While Vairamuthu’s hard work and dedication have paid rich dividends and has even attracted a `10 lakh sports scholarship from the Tamil Nadu government, the training provided by Hatsun Academy is scripting new history in tennikoit.
