VILLUPURAM: What does it feel like to view the world perched atop a slick wooden pole? For W Selvamozhiyan, it is swaying with the wind while performing a zillion bodily contortions on a slick wooden pole. Although fleeting, the spiritual elevation that the 27-year-old finds in the sport of mallakhamb, he says, is unparalleled.
Having tasted freedom at nine feet high from the ground, the youngster’s next step is to create a palette that offers opportunities to those who come from the marginalised sections.
If Selvamozhiyan can be likened to an artist, his latest collection displays the victories of two of his students, K Boomika (8) and V Mathivathani (11), who clinched silver medals at the Khelo India Games in Tiruchy, and bronze at the 37th National Games held in Goa in 2023. The mallakhamb trainer hails from Villupuram district and has emerged as a beacon of hope for government school students seeking to excel in sports.
Selvamozhiyan’s tryst with creating a legacy for the sport of the soil began in 2017, when he set up the ‘Happy Mallakhamb Training Centre’ in Villupuram, where government school students get free training. What started with a few students swelled to over 150 kids enrolling for mallakhamb training.
The success prompted the inception of another branch, Sivasakthi Mallakhamb Training Centre, located at Chinthamani on the outskirts of Villupuram.
Seeds for the niche, however, were sowed right in Selvamozhiyan’s childhood. Awestruck at the sport’s flexible resilience, Selvamozhiyan started training for mallakhamb at the tender age of eight years. He was brought under the tutelage of legendary master Ulagadurai and later coached by S. Ramachandran and Janardhanan. Coming from an economically weak background, Selvamozhiyan wanted to make a career out of his training. So, he pursued a degree in physical education, juggling his roles as a trainer with his job at a private school. Selvamozhiyan devotes his mornings and evenings to training his students.
For Selvamozhiyan, inclusion of mallakhamb in the sports scholarship category is crucial. He believes that this would pave the way for government jobs for players in the future, thereby providing tangible incentives for aspiring athletes.
To propel this dream, Selvamozhiyan along with three other coaches, namely, AJ Sivasakthi (21), AJ Praveen Kumar (24), and P Kabilan (27), envision transforming the centre into a hub of mallakhamb, where students from the marginalised sections can get trained. The trainers, Selvamozhiyan says, are all passionate about passing on the sport to children from humble backgrounds so that they would be able to access games without having to splurge. “I urge the state government to introduce mallakhamb training for free across government schools so that our children learn the traditional sport. Since it is a combination of yoga, gymnastics and martial arts, it will ensure proper health and flexibility,” Selvamozhiyan tells TNIE.
The success of his students at national events serves as a testament to his unwavering dedication to the sport. “Mallakhamb is fervently practised in Maharashtra and usually players from there are top performers at competitions. For the first time, Boomika bagged the second place in girls solo performance category at the Khelo India Games. She has earned herself a name in the mallakhamb world,” Selvamozhiyan adds. Boomika will be awarded a cash prize by the state government for her achievement, he added.
With a vision both for himself and for the local talent pool, Selvamozhiyan continues to champion mallakhamb and a more inclusive approach to support the next generation. He also calls on governments and stakeholders to invest in the development of grass root sports and nurture the next generation.
(Edited by Shrija Ganguly)