In pool, Sayali Gudhekar head and shoulders above the rest
There was an air of apprehension that surrounded the Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Olympic (MGMO) girls water polo team when asked to pose for a team photograph. Each brandished a trophy for their win at the Greater Mumbai Amateur Aquatic Association (GMAAA) organised tournament, held at the Pransukhlal Mafatlal Hindu Swimming Bath and Boat Club. Yet, as the rain lashed upon them, most wore frowns. That is, until Sayali Gudhekar, the seniormost player in the squad told them to ‘smile for the camera.’ After the India captain spoke, the mood changed instantly. Nervous shuffling was promptly replaced by eager grins beaming back at the camera.
Outside the pool, the 24-year-old is a pillar of guidance to her teammates when it comes to match preparation, or even posing for a shutterbug. Her duties to her colleagues don’t change much in the pool.
In the final against the Matunga Gymkhana, the veteran of the 2010 Asian Games team was bellowing instructions to each player from her full-back defensive position. Often she’d swim forward, not necessarily to engage in attack, but simply to further study and instruct her teammates. Unusual as her methods may seem, it is how she learnt the game herself.
Gudhekar recalls taking up water polo 12 years ago. Training at the MGMO club in the 50 and 100 metre breaststroke events, the youngster first came in touch with the contact sport. “The Western Railway team used to practice at the pool there and my coach used to train with them too. So he soon invited me to join them,” she says.
The railways, services and police teams in the country are the only teams that have full-time professional players. “Training with those professionals gave me a good place to start. I was playing with and learning from professionals in the game,” she adds.
Nonetheless, just like most other proponents of the game in the country, Gudhekar’s primary occupation is away from the pool. A design consultant at a graphic designing firm, she explains a certain ‘show-off attribute’ she possesses at her work place. “Not everyone gets to work alongside a captain of the Indian team,” she says, laughing at the thought. Yet at the same time, given the rarity of the sport, there is a fear when it comes to asking seniors for leave to attend national tournaments or camps. “I’ve been one of the lucky ones because my boss has been supportive. But there are quite a few people who are engineers or finance consultants who have missed events because they couldn’t get leave,” she mentions. “For people like us, we have our jobs to take care of and water polo comes later, whenever we have the time,” she adds.
Talking about maintaining balance, as captain of the national team, Gudhekar has drawn a tight schedule for herself. “I’m up and out of the house at 5:30 am. I train in the morning, then go to office, and then practice in the evening again.”
