Sheeba Singh

© The Tribune, October 4, 2008

Gone are the days when post-secondary institutions in general and universities in particular used to send their top players to represent India in international events. Surjit Singh, Baldev Singh, Rajinder Singh (all hockey) and Kanwal Thakur Singh (Badminton), for example, all were university students when they made the national grade and subsequently won laurels for India in international sports meets. But unfortunately, in the just-concluded Beijing Olympics, there was none from the Combined Universities, a channel that used to feed the national squads till late 80s.

Increased pressures to find a job with a sustainable salary, universities in India have started losing their motivation for sports. A city like Chandigarh with more tennis courts than any other city in the country now finds it difficult to field even a single team in inter-college competitions.

All three medallists from India – Abhinav Bindra, Vijender Kumar and Sushil Kumar – are all youngsters in their early teens – still Universities have little to talk about their sporting prowess.

On the other hand, other countries have been sending many athletes who are university students. In Carleton University – three students represented Canada in Beijing Olympic Games. One of them, Angus Mortimer, just missed a medal in kayaking. He was a member of men’s K-4 1000 m team. Students donning national colours certainly become source of motivation for fellow students to make it to the international horizon, like Olympics or other continental games like Asian Games or Pan American Games.

Interestingly, most of the athletes in developed countries do sports on their own, motivation being to make a mark for themselves. Canada, for example, that has been doing fairly well in water sports, including pool and fresh water events, in spite of long hostile winters.

“In most parts of Canada you can kayak for eight months in a year,” says Angus, a gold medallist in the last Pan American Games, revealing that for the rest of the time “We go to Florida to train. Teenagers as young as 15 go to Florida every winter to paddle. As for rowing, much of the team is based in Vancouver where you can row through out the year. I think Canada has a lot of fresh water and it is natural that we do well in these sports. It is a very Canadian thing to be out paddling on the lakes and rivers.”

Angus Mortimer is an all rounder as he participates in singles, doubles, and fours. “My most recent success has been in the singles event. I won a gold medal at the Pan American Games in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil last season. I have been ranked 2nd in Canada in singles for quite some time. Incidentally the 1st ranked person in Canada is also the current World Champion so that means I am racing the fours. However, the team events are more fun because you get to do everything with three of your friends!”

Angus started kayaking after his older brother and sister took it up first. “We lived very close to the canoe club so it was the best thing for us to do. My inspiration as a child were definitely the older people at the canoe club whom I looked up to and tried to be like them,” says Angus whose favourite sportsman is Ronald Rauhe, a kayaker from Germany, who has not lost any world championship or Olympic race in the doubles event for the last 8 years!

Though a kayaker is facing expulsion for doping at Beijing, Angus never ever thinks drugs. “You can be an Olympic level athlete only if you are prepared to make sacrifices along the way. The biggest sacrifice for me has been taking my university slowly. I only go to school part-time so I have done 2 years courses in about 5 years. Also, there isn’t much time for a social life. You are getting a different kind of education from taking part in sports, as well as meeting and being social with other sportsmen and women. It is totally worth it,” he concludes.

**Original Article can be found here.