Chennai: In an example of braving all odds to succeed, V Saravana Kumar (22), a resident of Mambalam in the city, had recently bagged the sixth rank in the senior men category (75 kg) at the World Body Building event held at Thailand.
Saravana Kumar who is the first Indian to be ranked within the top six, speaks to News Today. “It all started in my school days where I excelled in track events. Later, I joined a gym in the locality, where a trainer encouraged me to build my body. I soon started taking part in tournaments,” he said.
“I faced a lot of failures too along the way. For instance, once when I took part in an inter-college event, I failed to make it to the top ten. After being criticised for my poor show, I made up my mind and began working vigorously every day,” he added.
Interestingly, the youngster’s father, Vinayagam who runs a grocery shop in Mambalam, is also a Kabbadi player and had represented the State team. On the other hand, his mother Sivagami had been a constant source of support in his journey.
About this, he said, “It is a big challenge to build the body by maintaining the weight within the prescribed limits. The expense involved is quite high, considering our family’s financial standards, but my mother helped me with the required diet and made me achieve the feat.”
So has body-building got its due in the society?
“Absolutely not. But media helps in a big way. In my case, Talk (A member of News Today group) was the first tabloid that highlighted my achievements, when I won a district-level competition. After reading the news, many friends and relatives realised the significance of the sport and started encouraging me,” he stated.
It may be noted that the lad had earlier won titles such as Mr Tamilnadu, Mr Thiruvallur and Mr Chennai, all at this young age. On his future plans, he noted, “There are national and international-level events in the coming days. My aim is to achieve the top slot in both the tournaments.”
Saranava Kumar can be reached at 94459 34125.