JAKARTA: When Anjul Namdeo was in his formative years, he had a weird fetish: pouring over movies and documentaries centred around Shaolin temples. Love for combat sports, naturally, ignited his fire so much that he decided to become one himself. No, not a wrestler or boxer — two of the more conventional forms. He opted for wushu, a Chinese sport where Indians are slowly making a name for themselves.
On Monday, Day 1 of the Asian Games, China once again reasserted their supremacy picking up the gold in the men’s changquan event as Peiyuan Sun took home the first of 465 on offer, at the Jakarta International Expo. While Sun shone the brightest, Namdeo once again showed why India might become a hotbed in the discipline soon. He finished fifth with a score of 9.66, an all-time Indian high in a competitive setting.
The changquan (meaning Long Fist) isn’t, strictly speaking, a combat event. Only one athlete is on stage and he/she goes through an entire gamut of attacking moves — kickboxing and punching in particular — in an acrobatic manner. To the outsider, the perfect changquan routine is a happy marriage of floor gymnastics, kickboxing and punches after a 540-degree rotation in the air.
The 26-year-old, who is a sergeant in the Indian Air Force, was happy with his marriage but rued his incapability to achieve the rotation. “While we end up getting a 360, the best ones do 540. I think I lacked in the ‘B’ category, that’s where the judges rate us for ‘Overall Performance’”. The difference between podium and tough luck stories.
While the Jabalpur lad credited the Wushu Federation of India (WFI) for bringing in original equipment and providing players with everything from nutritionists to proper mats, he said the exposure trip to China came a touch too late. “One more exposure trip in the build-up would have been better as it might have improved us by a few notches.”
Improvement is not yet out of the question — he had finished ninth in Incheon — for this Bruce Lee fanatic who claims to have watched 36 Chambers of Shaolin more than 36 times. “I grew up watching Bruce Lee films. I have been into martial arts for 16 years thanks to him and his ilk. It was only after getting hooked on to Shaolin-based documentaries that I realised what I wanted to do.”While he may have failed on Monday, his Bruce Lee-addiction has taken him places. “I’ve been national champion for the last six years.”
