Stars in their eyes, steel in their hearts

Once David Beckham was passing by a park where kids were having a ball. The then England captain stopped by, had a few minutes enjoying the game and with a quiet chuckle, went on his way, perhaps to Carrington for more serious business.
When asked by a reporter what caught his fancy in the park, Becks had replied, "That kid's shape was good." Apparently, one kid was taking a free-kick and the master of the dead ball got hooked.Here are a few kids whose "shapes" are seemingly good. They are making ripples in their own small spheres.
Be it in the quaint corner of the Punjab Sports Club in Kolkata or in the dusty town of Surat, known more for its diamonds, little gems are polishing themselves for the world to dazzle. Reading a crystal ball is no mean job, more so in the bizarrely unpredictable world of sport. Kaka was the least talented among his group but today it will be difficult to trace any of his Sao Paulo teen-mates . But the search for the next big star is never ending. Crest just tries to predict how the cookie crumbles with a hope that they will create waves in the coming years...
Tucked away at the end of a narrow lane, off a busy central Kolkata thoroughfare, is the tennis wing of the Punjab Sports Club. Behind the members' changing room lies a small compound which houses the maalis and stewards of the club. In one of these five cramped rooms, under a common asbestos roof, a dream is being nurtured.
Son of a steward, nine-and-a-half-year-old Vikas Singh picked up tennis a year earlier, and won three state-level under-10 titles in addition to making the semis or final of under-12 events. Talent apart, Vikas has bowled many over with his passion, attitude and craving to learn. "I haven't seen a more talented kid in Bengal since the days of Leander and Zeeshan," says veteran coach Akhtar Ali.
"He comes home from school, gobbles up lunch and is ready to head for South Club in next to no time, insisting that he shouldn't be a minute late for Akhtar sir's classes," says father Jaibir. The steward's salary is not enough to fuel his son's expensive passion, but Jaibir is hardly losing sleep. "Everyone has been very supportive and I'm sure he'll get this backing in the future, too, provided Vikas continues to develop and perform," he says optimistically.
Mumbai lad Mahesh Mangaonkar made everyone sit up when he won the British Junior u-15 squash title in January 2009. Seeded 3/4 he beat England's No 2 seed Oliver Holland in the final on January 6. And he did it under duress, with blisters on his palms and in the bitter cold of UK.
Just out of the under-15 ranks, Mahesh, the Don Bosco Borivili lad won all the age group titles --unders-11, 13 and 15 -- at national level. He proved he is a successor to Saurav Ghoshal who won the British Junior u-19 title in 2004. On the heels of his British triumph Mahesh was third in the Pioneer Cup in Germany and fifth in the Dutch Open.
An attack of dengue hit his chances of winning the u-17 Junior National title at Indore where he played the final against Abhishek Pradhan at Indore inspite of running 102 degrees temperature. He was hospitalised soon after. "I am grateful to the guidance of Vaman Apte. I am concentrating on the u-17 event and training in Egypt. There's a lot to learn from the regimen of the world champs," he says. In 2010 Mahesh will play in the higher U-17 group in the British Juniors where he could be among the 5-8 seeds.
RUJUTA BHATT, 14
Swimmer
When Mumbai lass Rujuta Bhatt claimed two silver and a bronze in the senior Nationals in Hyderabad last year, it was a sign that suggests she is one for the future. Coached by Subodh Danke at Khar Gymkhana, a latter-day nursery of swimmers, her timing, around 29 seconds is just one second adrift of the seniors aged 20-23.
Rujuta came to the fore in the U-10 events in 2006 at Bangalore when she claimed four gold, two silver and one bronze (three meet records) and was adjudged best swimmer. Again at Goa in 2007 she had one gold, three silver, one bronze. She had one gold, two silver, three bronze at the School Games at Surat in 2007, and at the 25th sub-junior Nationals at Kolkata, five gold, one silver, three meet records and the best swimmer award came her way. At the Pune School Games 2008 she had 3 gold, 2 silver and one meet record. "I feel the need to win at senior level. It's tough with Shikha Tandon, Richa Mishra and Arhata Magavi there. But that's where the challenge lies," she says.
CALVIN LOBO, 13
Footballer
For someone who began as a striker, defending seems to come easy to Calvin Lobo. From winning a skills competition in 2007, to wearing the captain's arm-band for the Indian under-13 team, Calvin has come a long way in a short time. "Responsible," is how Jo Paul Ancheri, India's under-13 coach, describes him. "He has it in him to go all the way," feels India's former skipper. He drew rave reviews at the AFC under-13 festival in Iran in June this year. "That was the high point for me but I never let it get to my head," says Calvin. "I was dragged into defending but now I've learned to love it ever since. There's pressure all the time and it is the ideal position for a cucumberhead to flourish!" he chuckles
OVAIS DARVESH, 10
Boxer
Ovais Darvesh doesn't swear by WWF. "It's not the real thing right?" he asks. Don't be misled by his cherubic face. The 10-year-old , math-loving geek can get brutal in the ring.
Darvesh can sure pack a punch, competing against much older boys in the under-14 category as there are no events that have an under-10 section.
Light on his feet, Darvesh makes up in stamina what he lacks in power. He has only just returned from the statelevel boxing championship in Gadchirowli where he did well to bag a bronze considering he fought much older boys. "I never let my age come between me and my opponent. I may be small but I can fight," he says matter-of-factly . Boxing in the 32-34 kg category, the lad has absolutely no competition in Mumbai, where he lives. He is yet to lose a bout locally and feels it will stay that way for some time now.
His future plans? "An Olympic gold medal! But I also have my exams next week." Some bouts, you just can't win.
SARFARAZ KHAN, 12
Cricketer
Twelve-year-old Sarfaraz Khan kept playing cameos with the odd century in between till one day he decided to smash his way into the record books. The 439 runs in a single innings of a Harris Shield game in November this year turned his life around and he's barely hit anything below fifty after that day. Touted as the next boy wonder, Khan has successfully shrugged off the attention and pressure to consistently put his Rizvi Springfield school team into winning positions, the latest being their Harris Shield triumph. He first raised eyebrows when he became the youngest player to play the Kanga League - for Payyade Sports Club at the age of 10. He currently represents the Young Mohammadens side and is even part of the Mumbai under-14 camp. His uniqueness lies in the fact that you can ask him to open an innings, tweak the ball, keep wickets and even come down at no. 10 and expect him to hit a ton. "I love being a team man. Anything that's wanted of me, I'm comfortable doing," he says.
VIRAJ MADAPPA, 12
Golf
Viraj Madappa is head and shoulders above other budding golfers his age in eastern India. But, then, his battles have since moved beyond his region. The class VI student of Don Bosco Park Circus is now India No. 2 in the under-13 category and made a significant breakthrough this year when he won his first title on IGU's junior circuit after ending up runner-up time and again. "He won the Eastern India after losing in a play-off last year," says mother Vidya, who usually travels with Viraj and has to tackle her boy's bad days. "His natural talent and commitment makes him extraspecial . He's very mature for his age, yet he retains the childish side of him," says Kolkata pro Indrajit Bhalotia, who is involved with junior programmes. The 12-year-old is fortunate that he has parents who can not only meet the big financial demands of golf but also take pains to be by his side as he grows up in an unforgiving game.
FRENAZ CHIPIA, 13
Table Tennis
As Frenaz Chipia was growing up, among her toys and rattles, she also had a table tennis racquet and ball. They were given by her father Mehernosh Chipia and sister Zena, who had both played the game at the national level. So, after running with the wooden racquet and knocking over antique pieces and glass panes, Frenaz was gradually drawn towards the table. "I actually wanted her to play the game because it helps develop concentration," says Mehernosh, who also doubled up as a coach. It proved correct as she topped her school, St Xaviers English in Surat, but also became a better player with regular practice. Frenaz has already played in U-12 schools and open nationals. "I hold my performance at the national school games in Mizoram in 2006-07 where we won the team gold and I the individual silver as my best till date," she says. Once in a while, the little girl in her emerges and she yearns for a burger and fries with her friends. "But on most occasions I give it a miss. TT comes first and then the rest."
SHIREEN LIMAYE , 15
Basketball, Cuesports, Netball
Amulti-sport prodigy, Shireen Limaye takes to sport like a duck to water. At fourteen she has already carved a niche for herself as a hoopster, cuesport champ and netball hopeful. Shireen made her maiden appearance for India at the Asian under-16 basketball championship in Pune, where she was adjudged ‘rebound ace' , latching on to the ball rebounding from the board 61 times. She devotes two hours in the mornings for snooker and three hours for basketball. She idolises her mother Suvarna and elder brother Animesh. Suvarna is a former state-level player while Animesh is a national level player. She finished runner-up in billiards in sub-juniors (U-16 ) at the Agra Nationals this year. In the 2008 Indore Nationals, she lost to citymate Arantxa Sanchis in snooker in the junior (U-18 ) category. She's presently among the 20 probables at the India netball camp for the 2010 Delhi Commonwealth Games.
VAIBHAV SURI , 12
Chess
Nine-year-old Vaibhav Suri's introduction to chess happened solely because his mother Vandana wanted her introvert child to 'open up'. The process began in Vaibhav's hobby classes at RS Junior Modern School in Delhi. Vaibhav started competing in January 2006, and won individual gold at the Asian School Games in Singapore recently. In a span of three years, this Delhi boy has established himself as a prime upcoming chess talent in the country. Today, at Elo 2344, Vaibhav is ranked World No 1, Asian No 1 and National No 1 in the U-12 category. His scholarly look belies his age and Harry Potter does not give him the kick that chess does. When it comes to talking about himself, the shy boy clams up. But ask him about his hero Veselin Topalov and he tells you in a soft voice that he admires the Bulgarian Grandmaster because he remained ‘honest and clean' during his unified World Championship title against Vladimir Kramnik in 2006