Boy from coastal village attends intl sporting event

NAGAPATTINAM: A boy from fishing hamlet studying in a government school made his community and the entire coast here proud by making it to the International School Federation –World School Championship (ISF-WSC) Beach Volleyball, 2015 tournament that concluded in Brazil on Friday.
Born in Nambiar Nagar, a hamlet which survived the killer tsunami of 2004 in Nagappattinam, 16-year-old M Mathivanan brought cheers to his hometown by taking part in the under 17-18 category in the international tournament.
Beach volleyball is a favourite sport among youngsters in the coastal district, but Mathivanan’s skill and determination took him a step ahead. The Class 11 student was initially a volleyball player in his school team.
“Mathivanan showed interest in beach volleyball and shined in the game as well. He became the state player under junior category in volleyball because of his natural ability. He has practice walking on the beach sand, which helps his game. Now, he has touched new heights,” said M Mohammed Thoufik, an NIS (Netaji Subhas National Institute of Sports)- certified volleyball coach in Nagapattinam.
His successful appearances in school, district and state-level tournaments soon gained him prominence. He received an opportunity to prove his talent in the under-19 category beach volleyball tournament organised by the school games federation of India (SGFI) in the state on January 29, 30 and 31 this year. The event turned out to be a turning point in his career.
The tournament organisers picked him as one of the players who would represent India in the school games category. A private firm in the district extended a helping hand by awarding him with Rs 3 lakh for the expenses of the tournament, which began on June 13 and concluded on Friday in Brazil.
The district sports authority and the entire district were awaiting the good news from the young player. “We are unable to contact him over the phone to get to know the results. We hope he will shine in the international arena. Many skilled players from Nagappattinam made the district proud at national and international levels. Nagappattinam is the only district which has a ground for beach volleyball in the state,” district sports officer K Thirumugam said.