HIS HEART IN CHENNAI

SUMEETH won the bronze medal in the men's epee event at the Commonwealth junior (under-20) Championship.-R. RAGU SUMEETH won the bronze medal in the men's epee event at the Commonwealth junior (under-20) Championship.

From kabaddi to fencing, writes SAINATHA SUMEETH

A kabaddi player, Sainatha Sumeeth took to fencing because of his neighbour Lakshmikanth, a National gold medallist in foil. "Lakshmikanth asked me take up fencing. He said, `You have good movement, you can do better in fencing'. Soon, I won my first medal — a bronze — in the National sub-junior championship in Bangalore in 2000." Since then he has been hooked to the sport, travelling all over India to compete in tournaments.

Coached by I. D. Singh, Sumeeth got his due reward when he bagged the bronze medal in the men's epee event in the inaugural Commonwealth junior (under-20) Championship at the Nehru Indoor Stadium in Chennai.

Sumeeth speaks Tamil fluently and visits Chennai once in a while as some of his relatives stay here. "Sometimes I come with my friends to have fun at the Golden Beach and Marina Beach and I love Saravana Stores as there are a lot of things to buy at one place," says the 19-year-old from Karnataka, who received the Karnataka Olympic Association's best fencer award in 2004.

— K. Keerthivasan