But for an indebilitating rankle in her ankle a decade and a half ago, Chitra Magimairaj could have been one among those numerous nameless faces of Indian women’s hockey, forgotten and forlorn. An injury spelt doom for her hockey career. But it threw open the new vista of cue sports, one in which she has set a precedent for aspiring women cueists. And one that has brought her fame and recognition that women’s hockey wouldn’t have.
Chitra’s life once swung with the hockey stick. She was making waves on the national circuit. After captaining Karnataka for three successive years at the nationals, she was hopeful of representing the country, her once-upon-a-time dream of a lifetime. Even Chitra is befuddled at the strange ways of destiny. “I had never even dreamt of playing billiards or snooker. I had made up my mind that I would play only hockey, and had realistic hopes of playing for India one day. I worked hard and was made the state captain too. But life changed suddenly, and in retrospect I feel it was for the good,” she reflects.
Then occurred the unexpected. “It happened during a local match between Sports Hostel, Mysore and BEL Colony Youth Association. An opposition player tried to tackle me but mistimed her shot and hit my right knee. The shot was so powerful that I tore all my ligaments. I fell down and cried in pain. My head spun and I felt utterly helpless. To this day I have never undergone such physical pain. It still sent shivers down my spine. Those days were nightmarish,” she recollects.
What followed were days of both mental and physical agony. “I spent months in the hospital. It didn’t even cross my mind that I couldn’t play hockey. I just wanted to walk. Thankfully, I was lucky to have Anant Joshi as my doctor, and I underwent five surgeries in four years on my knee before I could walk properly. Another two years of rehabilitation followed and by that time I had resigned myself to the fate that I couldn’t play hockey,” she recounts.
During her sabbatical, she pondered on alternative career options and was convinced that she couldn’t seek beyond the spectrum of sport. But she couldn’t take up any sport that was physically demanding either. She was too old to embark on a career in chess, and she swore she didn’t have the patience either. Golf was an option she considered, but it was way too expensive for her to bear. Finally, she opted for billiards, chiefly because she could play at the Indian Telephone Industries Sports Club, for her father was an ITI employee (and a football and tennis player). Also, she admired Geet Sethi.
Blessed with a knack for sports, Chitra didn’t find the ways of coloured balls too confusing to comprehend. Her brother Issairaj was instrumental in her initial days while Dronacharya awardee Arvind Savur taught her the basics and told her to focus on billiards. Besides, he suggested that she join the Karnataka State Billiards Association — a move she sees as the turning point of her career. “The more I played, the more addicted I became. I started competing in local events and later at national championships,” she says. Beyond billiards, she also began dabbling in pool and snooker. “It was TNBSA’s S Raj Mohan who encouraged me to take up pool as it was part of the Doha Asian Games 2006. My confidence in pool grew after I won the national championship in Jamshedpur in 2007. That was my first major title,” she says. This confidence was transferred to the billiards table — Chitra won the World Billiards Championship in 2007.
“I didn’t even have enough funds to go for the tournament. Again, my brother came to the rescue and I made it. The lead-up to the tournament was pretty patchy and I wasn’t in great touch. Fortunately, I recovered my form. The win changed my world and the response I got was overwhelming. I was convinced that I had taken up the right sport,” she says. Despite winning the world crown and the Australian Open snooker title in 2008, Chitra is yet to win a national title in snooker or billiards. She is likely to set the record straight soon. (sandipgopal@gmail.com)
Chitra Magimairaj factfile
* 2009 World Ladies Billiards Championship — Runner-up
* 2008 17th Indian National Ladies Snooker Championship — Runner-Up
* 2008 17th Indian National Ladies Billiards Championship — Runner-Up
* 2008 Australian Open Women Snooker Championship — Winner
* 2007 World Ladies Billiards Championship — Winner
* 2007 National 9Ball Pool — Winner
