One is never too old to give up on their passion. After all, age is just a number, and it holds true for N Selvarajan (49), who is a Leading Fire Brigadier with Tamilnadu Fire and Rescue Service at the Velacheri Station, Chennai.
A buoyant athlete all through his school and college days, he has won numerous accolades for his track and javelin throw skills. But when career and family life got in the way, he had to give up on his passion.
“I have been into sports since I was in class 8, and I excelled in 400 and 800-meter races. But I stopped pursuing it after I became a fireman.” The Fire Station at Tansi Nagar, Velacheri, came up in 2014 and Selvarajan has been posted here since then.
“Before that I was posted at Guindy station and at Raj Bhavan.” So how did he become a sports champion again? My passion was rekindled when I was training my son who is in class 11. He is a champion in both javelin and kabaddi and I want him to become ‘star player’ in both. At this point, I realised that I still had the potential to play the sport.”
After a sabbatical of 20 years, Selvarajan picked up the javelin again. For this sport, the core strength should be in one’s shoulders. “The shoulder muscles have to be strong. So I trained for two years before stepping into real competitions.”
Thus began his second innings. He went on to clinch bronze at a national tournament organised by State Master’s Athletic Championship at Guntur. He also came first in a State event. “I took part in the national level event at Bangalore and came sixth place,” he beams.
Selvarajan is currently preparing for the Asia-level meet in Malaysia which is to take place in December, and if he wins, he would be qualified for the International championship.