At 43, Radhika Reddy, former National Games gold medallist in kabaddi, is on cloud nine after the successful stint as the only woman commentator for Sony Sports Network for the recently-held Tokyo Olympics.
“Yes, I take pride in being the only woman commentator cutting across four languages (Hindi, Tamil, Telugu and English) in which the Olympics was telecast live,” she said.
For someone who has been a regular TV commentator for the last six years starting with Pro Kabaddi League before branching out into Premier Badminton League, Khelo India Games, Radhika has found her comfort zone.
"Honestly, when I came to know 20 days before the Tokyo Games that I would be broadcasting for Sony TV, I was a little hesitant. But, hours of preparation given the fact that the Olympics means 11,000 athletes competing in 33 disciplines and 300 events for two weeks made me learn many things about so many sports,” she said.
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“I had the liberty of mixing English words with Telugu and that really helped me a lot. Many TV viewers are pretty knowledgeable about English terminology in TV commentary which is brilliant,” the Hyderabadi said.
“The biggest challenge was to chip in as a commentator midway through a match in any discipline. So, keeping track of all that was happening in Tokyo was a huge task but I enjoyed it thoroughly,” she said.
“Definitely, I am grateful to many senior commentators, who gave me invaluable advice and that helped me a lot,” Radhika, the MBA graduate said.
Her husband, Srinivas Reddy, is the coach of the Indian team in the World Cup and the Asian Games Kabaddi Championships besides training players in the PKL.
What next? “Now, I can unhesitatingly take up any challenge as a commentator in any language given the knowledge I have gained from Olympics,” signed off a confident Radhika.
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