In the primary week of March 2024, Ravichandran Ashwin was strolling by the slender, chilly lanes of Dharamshala, with the mighty Himalayas within the backdrop, reminiscing a peak scaled by not many Indian cricketers. Ashwin joined the elite membership of cricketers who performed 100 Test matches for India, solely the 14th participant to take action, and the primary one from Tamil Nadu.

In the 92-year Test historical past of Indian cricket, 26 others from the state have represented the nation however none has remained on the prime for so long as Ashwin.

Understandably, Ashwin was emotional when requested what it meant for somebody from this a part of the nation to realize what he has. “It is an experience that I would like to share with many more that come from my part of the country,” he mentioned, including, “There is a lot of talent out there. Make no mistake about the abilities those people had in the past or of those who will play in the future. I wish and hope that many more come from this part of the country and go on to achieve even better things than I have.”

‘Ping’ing on to victory

Indeed, there is no such thing as a exaggeration in regards to the sporting expertise within the state. And it isn’t simply restricted to cricket. If Ashwin is a stalwart in cricket, in A Sharath Kamal, Tamil Nadu has a table-tennis celebrity. The 42-year-old, who made his Olympic debut in Athens in 2004, continues to be India’s top-tier desk tennis participant and has received a number of Commonwealth Games and Asian Games medals.

After over twenty years of toiling, he will likely be having one final go on the everlasting glory that has eluded him in Paris in 2024.

“This will be my last Olympics,” Sharath Kamal instructed this each day earlier than leaving for Singapore for a WTT occasion. “We see big potential there; win a round and you are in the quarterfinals. You never know in the quarterfinals. On your day, anything can happen. An upset and you are in with a chance,” he added.  Along with Sharath Kamal, who is set to become one of the very few five-time Olympians from India, G Sathiyan will also be looking to bring laurels to the state and the country. The 31-year-old, another CWG and Asiad medallist, took to table tennis at the age of five, and couldn’t put the paddle down. Although he studied engineering, adhering to his parent’s wishes, Sathiyan’s true love for table tennis never wavered. In Paris, he will be eyeing the top honour in the mixed doubles with Manika Batra. 

Heavyweights lift TN to glory

The folklore and achievements of Tamil Nadu’s athletes are not just restricted to cricket fields and TT tables. Sathish Sivalingam, son of an ex-serviceman from Sathuvachari, Vellore, is a renowned weightlifter who has won gold medals in Commonwealth Games and Commonwealth Championships. He won gold in both 2014 and 2018 CWG.

Now, taking forward Sathish’s legacy is N Ajith. Hailing from the same village as Sathish, Ajith won gold in the 73kg category in the 2022 national championships. He missed the ticket to the 2022 CWG and worked hard to make a comeback and retain his national championship medal. Thereon, Ajith carried the momentum to win gold in the Commonwealth Weightlifting Championships. Although he did not make a mark in the Asian Championships, Ajith has shown enough promise to come back stronger. 

On observe, on the observe

Then there’s Subedar Arokia Rajeev who has introduced laurels to the state on the observe. The 32-year-old from Tiruchy started as a long-jumper earlier than taking to working. Rajiv, who confronted many adversities early in life, joined the military in 2011 and ultimately went on to win the 400m bronze within the 2014 Asiad, 400m silver and the 4*400m gold within the 2017 Asian Championships.
Indumathi Kathiresan, a police sub-inspector throughout the pandemic, donned a brand new hat on the sphere as she went on to symbolize the nation in soccer.

The midfielder’s journey to turn into a footballer and pursue her ardour for the game in itself is an inspiration. From Indumathi and Rajiv to Ajith, Sathiyan, Sharath and Ashwin, each single athlete has strived onerous, toiling for years to carry glory to the state. And these are only a handful of examples. As Ashwin mentioned, there’s a lot sporting expertise within the state and with the fast-changing panorama, issues are going to get solely higher for sports activities in Tamil Nadu.