At 80, he still paddles

Vizag's octogenerian paddler D. Kesava Rao in action at the Futureall 1st AP State Table Tennis Championship at Vijayawada Club on Sunday. Photo: CH. Vijaya Bhaskar
Vizag’s octogenerian paddler D. Kesava Rao in action at the Futureall 1st AP State Table Tennis Championship at Vijayawada Club on Sunday. Photo: CH. Vijaya Bhaskar

D. Kesava Rao, a retired railway employee with the South Eastern Railways, has been passionately playing table tennis for more than five decades and he is the oldest paddler playing in the Futureall 1 Andhra Pradesh Veterans Table Tennis Championship.

Weighing just over 50 kg, the pencil-thin octogenarian paddler is a cynosure for all at the Vijayawada Club. This veteran table tennis player from Vizag is yet to wear spectacles and he is not stricken by either blood pressure or the dreaded diabetes.

Meet D. Kesava Rao, a retired railway employee with the South Eastern Railways, who has been passionately playing table tennis for more than five decades and he is the oldest paddler playing in the Futureall 1 Andhra Pradesh Veterans Table Tennis Championship.

Fit as a fiddle, Mr. Rao is a regular feature at the Port Stadium and at the Railway Institute at Visakhapatnam. He fondly interacts with the sub junior players, passing on his expertise and experience to the next generation.

“I am healthy owing to table tennis. For more than five decades I am sweating it out for three hours. In fact I travel with a TT racquet where I go,” says the eternal-lover of ping pong.

Mr. Rao, as a youngster broke his hand while playing football and he was forced to look for a safer game. “The noise the ball made on a table at the Railway Institute drew me closer to the game and from them on we (table tennis) are together,” says the former signal and telecommunications employee.

Mr. Rao is an inspiring face of the Vizag table tennis circuit and he has represented South Eastern Railways in several inter-railway championships. “I won several medals in the veteran championships. I also took part the Asian Veteran Championship at Chinese Taipei in 2007,” he recollects.

Mr. Rao is a worried man when it comes to the unhealthy habits among the youngsters. “Youngsters must learn how to sweat it out it in a playground. They should take up some game and should burn calories. In fact the eye sight will improve by playing some game or the other.”

The ageing process is yet to douse the spirit of the paddler as he bounces on ball to unleash a forehand smash with the enthusiasm of a teenager.

“I am an aggressive player and I believe that a ball is meant to be hit.”

The affable veteran preferred the old format of 21-points as he felt it gave the player an opportunity to bounce back. “The 11-point format is ruthless. If you lose the initial momentum then you are in trouble.”

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Vijayawada / by J.R. Shridharan / Vijayawada – July 13th, 2015

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