From everyday Jane to queen of single sculls

By Stan Rayan

KOCHI, OCT. 11. Six years ago, as she paddled lazily in a small country boat near her home, little did Jincymol Varghese realise that she would carve a career out of her craze.

``It was nothing special. There is a small river near my home at Chembumpuram. And when it gets boring, we go out for a swim, go fishing or take the boat out...just for fun,'' said Jincy.

She was just an `everyday Jane' in school sport too. ``A bit of running, a bit of kabaddi...the usual things. Even in my dreams I wouldn't have imagined that sport would play a big part in my life as it does now,'' she said.

One fine morning, as she browsed through a local newspaper, her whole life changed. She spotted a small ad in the daily, put up by the SAI Water Sports Centre, inviting youngsters to rowing.

Her two sisters were keen on a nursing career, but Jincy just could not imagine herself cleaning wounds or tending to the sick.

Her aversion to nursing could have played a big part in Jincy responding to the SAI ad. Or it could have been the hope of landing a job in the long run. Whatever it was, Jincy took to rowing like a fish to water.

Today, the 23-year-old from Alappuzha is among the best in the business in Asia. Jincy won the women's single sculls bronze in the ninth Asian rowing championship at Yangling the other day.

Indians, who finished with two silver and four bronze medals, had a decent haul in the Chinese event. But Jincy's bronze had a sparkle, for the Asian meet was her first international outing. And while the men's team had an exposure trip to Spain prior to the Asian championship, the girls had to do with just a camp in Chandigarh.

For a late comer to rowing, Jincy's rise has been rather stupendous. Eight months after joining the Alappuzha SAI Centre, she won two silver medals at her maiden Nationals. She has never looked back.

She is now the queen of single sculls in the country, virtually dominating the event for the last five years. She was adjudged the country's best rower in the Open National in Kolkata in March and at the Sprint Nationals in Bangalore this July, she picked a double, retaining the single and double sculls golds.

``I've got more than 10 national golds in the single sculls, my pet event,'' says Jincy proudly. Her collection in the double sculls is nearly as impressive.

Jincy is a natural, says SAI coach G.S. Nair. ``Rowing requires a lot of power, especially from your hands and legs. And Jincy has both in abundance. And training with boys has made her stronger. But more than all these, she has tremendous will-power. That's her biggest asset,'' said the former swimming international.

The Chinese are the rowing kings of Asia and swept all the golds at the last Asian Games in Bangkok. And the Yangling meet was an eye-opener for Jincy.

``The Chinese technique is so good and so smooth that they seem to expend less energy than the rest of Asia. And they have a lovely rhythm,'' she said. ``We have a lot of catching-up to do when it comes to technique.''

Unfortunately, Jincy and the rest of Indians could not learn much about the Chinese system because language was a big barrier.

Still, Indians managed to spring a small surprise in Yangling, with the talented Gurpreet Kaur from Chandigarh jolting a Chinese girl to win the junior single sculls silver.

The 2002 Asian Games in Pusan is India's next major competition. ``We need a lot of exposure tours before that,'' says Jincy.

A late-starter, the youngster is in a bit of hurry. It's a race against Father Time now.

If only she had spotted the SAI ad a few years earlier...

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