My Very Last Inter IIT
Guwahati, the most beautiful campus I have ever seen, was drenched with heavy rain. It was chillingly cold, the ideal weather for waterpolo. We faced Delhi in our first match, which was a cakewalk (16-2). Next came Kharagpur, the team we had humiliated the previous year. They were new and inexperienced but spirited. Though they put up a good fight initially, our experience prevailed in the later stages of the match. We won 5-2. I tried something which had never been tried before in an Inter IIT — going underwater from our half to the other half and getting a free shooting opportunity one-on-one against the goalie. It was our fifth goal.
Even as the waterpolo triumphs were taking shape, old Inter IIT swimming records were being buried deep underwater. Akshay Krishna, our own Torpedo, was on a rampage, breaking record after record. Being a member of the relay team, I too got an opportunity to write down my name on the record sheet. We broke the 4*100 meters freestyle relay record.
However, we had not forgotten our four-year old talisman, yet to be broken. It was still fresh in our minds; Kanpur was our rival in the semis. Those defeats in the Kanpur and Kharagpur Inter-IITs and the draw in Roorkee motivated us every single moment. The match started with high intensity. Kanpur scored two goals in succession after we missed several opportunities. Everyone in the team was concerned after the first quarter. I started thinking of the jinx again, but there was some confidence, some motivation. When I looked at GPS, we both laughed like predators that have given their prey every chance to escape. The predators had smelt the win. We came back and leveled, and then started leading. We never gave them the chance to lead again. The last quarter, our Mecca, saw us leading by three goals. We sealed the coffin and hammered in the nails. We had broken the the jinx. We had won 8-5. We were in the finals once again.
Coming Full Circle — A Golden Double!
On the swimming side, riding on Akshay’s victories, we were cruising towards the swimming championship. But Kharagpur had other plans. Famous for creating swimmers whose reserves never got exhausted, Kharagpur had had an amazing run. They were winning podium positions in every other event. To our complete surprise, on the final day, they were tied with us. The championship came down entirely to the results of the last race — the 50 meters freestyle. We had our ‘missile’ Krishna Rao in the 6th lane and KGP had their fastest in the 7th lane — and Krishna Rao won us the swimming championship by bagging silver! We were all beyond ecstatic that we had won the swimming shield after a gap of more than a decade.
The water polo finals were held immediately after. Bombay, our arch rival in Inter IIT, was on a winning streak, led by Adwit Kashyap. He had single-handedly led his team to the finals. We were sure of winning if only we managed to stop him. We started out dominant, leading 3-0 in the first quarter, and maintained the dominance throughout the match — at one point, we led 7-2. Our captain, Anand Parikh, continuously swam to and fro whenever he was required, in offence or defence. He played a crucial role in rendering Adwit ineffective throughout the match. We won easily, the final score being 7-4.
This was a special victory — we had achieved something that the history of sports at IITM had never seen. The ‘Golden Double’! We had added 20 points to the tally and given a head start to the Inter IIT campaign. We took both the trophies in style and with great satisfaction and pride.
We had earned that victory, with every ounce of energy that we had invested, with every smile despite the numerous lows and tests of patience, and most importantly, with our perseverance. Despite not having our own pool, we never gave up. We swam in crowded lanes. We swam in inadequate facilities. We practiced without the goal posts. We swam our events without their practice but we still improved every single year. We sailed through times of last minute withdrawals. We sailed through times of injury. We got through phases of swimming every moment under scares of collisions and accidents. We travelled ten kilometres every single day — morning and evening. We cycled, we ran, we swam, we played, we got injured, we came back. We deserved each and every moment of that victory.
Thanks and a Final Goodbye
I thank all those who stood by us throughout our journey. Our girls’ team had always been there for us. Some people I will never forget and want to thank: Shruti Chandrashekhar — former Spons core — who took care of us like her own family during our gravest times of food poisoning in the 2009 Inter IIT; Roopa Pachak, MSc Chem, 2009 — always made us laugh and was our biggest support throughout; Poorna Kumar — the IITM swimming sensation — for being a wonderful co-captain and a teacher at times; Aparnna Suresh — a freshie in 2011 — for teaching me some life lessons, and last but not the least, Veena Venkat — for being there with the team throughout our four year journey and sticking with us with a smiling face, no matter whether we were winning or losing.
I wish the girls’ team the best of luck. They are on the rise and are looking forward to a podium finish next year. All the best, Aditi Malpani and Devika Ghate.
This last para is dedicated to my team-mates, who were like my family. I will cherish those times all my life. I have seen greats like Tattu, Chutta and 1B playing. I have heard Tattu’s famous speech about adapting the game according to referees and not criticizing them. I have seen GPS, a monster player, whose shots used to break goalposts, overpowering everyone else. A team together since 2009, our friendship has just become deeper with every year. Sahaj, my greatest mentor, who from time to time advised me and kept me motivated. Ishan (Hoby), who made me what I am today as a player. Your defensive skills sharpened my offence skills, and your every save made me to work harder to improve. As captains, we saw that black chapter together. Deva, the greatest goalkeeper that Inter IIT has ever seen, was compared to the national keeper by the coach. Your dedication infected us all. Your saves made our shots more precise and accurate. You, as a person made me learn so many things, and as a friend always had my back. Suraj, for making me realize that his defence was better than my offence. Your calmness and coolness got us through tough times easily. Krishna, for being a torchbearer — he led as an example in the front. Jay, for being a wonderful friend, team member and team ‘strategist’.
I could go on and on in praise of my teammates. The list is too long. The fact is, each and every one of you has impacted my life in a big way and helped me get to where I am. Now is the time to graduate in peace, assured that we have planted the seeds for the coming future.
