The only child to his Parents.
Father an Engineer,Mother a Teacher.
Godfather was his Grandfather.
Resolve he was born with.
Give it your best try.
Was his battle Cry.
Second to none.
Never to be outdone.
Groomed for Stardom.
Destined for Greatness.
Potential he did fulfill,
Blind to the bird but not to it's eye.
Made his opponents eat humble pie.
Straddling Table Tennis and Education
He did it with Passion
Born in a house of Paddlers
He took to the game like fish to water.
Loose he did to a veteran player.
Affected his esteem at every layer.
Formal training was the direction.
Which he commenced with conviction.
Interned with the mighty
Name was Senapathy
Mentored him in the game.
Which was to bring him name and fame.
Nobody knew then,
That he would become a player to reckon.
Showed potential as a teenager.
Prodigy he was not.
Only Sacrifice would suffice,
Parted with Parents and Friends alike.
Lived and breathed the game.
Penchant for winning pushed him beyond the frame.
Victories were far and few.
Never let his purpose skew.
Respecting his teacher, he set an example
Coach was God
Was his principle.
Perseverance paid
And he played for State
In his younger age.
Junior category was a fight.
He did with all his might.
India number seven.
Vault of heaven,
Was yet to open.
Toured Korea and Japan,
Attended many a Coaching Camp.
Learnt all he can.
Trained with vigour,
Things began to auger.
Quantum jump, Radical Change ,Giant strides.
Give it any name ,his style was a sight.
Meteoric was his rise.
Nothing could stop him
Winning just a game
Won his opponents praise.
Relentless in his pursuit for perfection.
Education was not left behind.
Value systems being the same.
Strived to be in the hall of fame.
He never did Play Hooky.
Integrity toward his subject of study.
The Gold Medal seemed Worthy.
Topping his class became a habit.
From Kindergarten to Law.
His Answer papers
No one could find a flaw.
Being first is Special
Coming 2nd is the same as finishing last
Either you are the best
Or you are with the rest
He still says with zest
First of the Finest
His fame reached wide and far.
Became the games first Superstar.
Stadiums were Sold Out,
To Watch him Play
Night or Day.
Opponents fell like ninepins
Keeping count became difficult of his wins.
Men wanted to be like him.
Women wanted to be with him.
Everyone wanted a piece of him.
All he took lightly on his shoulders with a grin.
Palaghat ,Indore and Durgapur
History was rewritten by Telent pure
Ballistic went the crowd
As was bestowed upon him the ultimate Crown
3 different Bats and 6 different rubbers.
Odds of Winning,
Punters will tell you the numbers.
A feat unmatched it remains.
******* on the
table it explains
Traveling like an arrow from an ace archer.
He had his aim much farther.
Asian ranking in his fold
There were not enough challenges to put him on hold.
Life is what happens when we are busy making plans.
What is meant to be will find its way.
A person often meets his destiny on the path he took to avoid it.
All these adages came true.
As a bolt from the blue.
Shooting fish in a barrel
Knee Surgery.
Was botched leaving him
Knocking on Death's door.
Brain Dead ,Pink Froth and Coma he endured
Juxtaposing Winning Glory and celebrated
Culpable liable they were of negligence.
Guilty once found ,
their careers in jeopardy.
Doctors became Actors.
Carried out the Sting.
Deceptive and delusive
Crystal clear became their motive.
Fighting for his life .
Disowned by the Hospital.
Face like a wet weekend,
Down in the mouth.
He was wheeled out,
Knocked sideways.
An act of slight.
Made him take up the fight.
Their insolence was the trigger.
For things to become bigger.
Opposition however mightier.
He readied for battle on the philosophy of Be Water.
Benchmark he was in all his endeavours.
Destroyed in him was everything .
Spirit was intact.
Calamity opened the doors for creating history
Medical negligence suit he filed.
Leading the way once again.
Never to back down from a fight.
He took upon their might
Long drawn battle ensued.
David and Goliath played over again.
Too big they were to oppose opined all.
Too big they were to miss would cause their fall.
Money Power and Manipulation were their deck of cards.
Truth was the Ace he had in his heart.
Fruition of his thoughts, he never failed.
Threaten ,Disrupt,Delay weapons they used.
Countered them with grit and tenacity infused.
The Giant assumed the storm unleashed he cannot withstand.
Only if they had known he was the storm beforehand.
Judgement Day was Justice Day .
Late it was but not Denied.
Not new to him.
For all the battles and wars he'd fought.
He was always the dark horse who beat the odds.
Setting a precedent always his vogue.
Stood on the Soapbox.
An addiction he never could detox.