82-year-young Muthu targets medal in world athletic meet

“I was recovering from a groin injury for the last two months. I had to remain idle because of it. This is my first day after a long layoff,” says Muthukumarasamy, who is preparing for the World Veterans Athletic Meet in Spain in September. 

Commenting on how he got hooked to the sport, he said, “I started pursuing it only in 2009. I used to play tennis at the Egmore Club before that. My good friend Walter Davaram had come to the club to monitor the functioning of volleyball there. He was impressed with my enthusiasm and requested me to train at the Nehru Stadium. He believed that I had the potential to win a medal in the veteran’s category (in pole vault), which would also earn us (the association) some points.” 

Muthu is an out and out sportsman. Right from his younger days, he has been playing different sports. “I have been playing tennis right from my childhood days. Once I graduated from Annamalai University, I had a gap of eight years when I did not play anything,” he asserted. 

“But, I also used to play cricket, hockey, table tennis and billiards until my tenth grade. For the next two years, I shifted my focus to badminton and tennis,” added the veteran.

Before winning accolades in pole vault, the Anna Nagar resident had made his mark in tennis as well. “I used to take part in tournaments organised by All India Senior Tennis Association for about 10-15 years. I was a strong contender in it until 2009. But, after that I had to come out of it because the age limit to participate was 65,” he stated. 

Speaking on how he got introduced to swimming, he said, “Arjun Das is my doctor, one of the best neurologists in India. He used to play in our (tennis) club. As I was getting older, he felt my stamina kept coming down.” 

All that he touched seemed to be turning into gold as he came back with a medal in his first outing in swimming. “He asked me to try out swimming and I ended up winning a medal in the first Nationals I took part (in 2009). I have been winning at least a medal every year and last year, I came home with four medals (1 gold, 2 silver and 1 bronze).” Muthukumarasamy has now set his sights on clinching a medal in the world circuit before calling it a day. 

“As I have already won two medals at the Asian meet, I am not going for it this year. But, I will be participating in the world meet in Spain in September. I just want to bag a medal in it before I die (laughs).”