Meeting Kapil Dev, the hero who turned a village bowler into a volleyball international

Memories galore when sports stars meet their sporting heroes for the first time. Former international volleyball player S A Madhu felt it when he chanced on Kapil Dev at the Cochin International Airport.

Madhu, Superintendent with the Cochin Customs, was on duty when the cricket great walked in to fly out of Kochi after attending a public event in the city. Kapil had no idea the tall, bearded man decked in spotless whites owed his career to him. Well, how many sporting heroes actually know their trail of influence?

Madhu tried telling that, but Kapil was tired after a tight schedule, and the boarding call was made. Kapil obliged for a few selfies before Madhu walked him to the lounge and got back to work. Kapil had made his day, and Madhu tried to reminisce his youthful days at Brahmamangalam near Vaikom in the Kottayam district.

The 1983 World Cup, Indian cricket's finest hour, had a transformative effect on the teenager. "There was no TV in my village, so we took a bus to another village called Kanjirmattom, where, if I remember well, there was a black and white TV at a library, and everyone came together to watch the World Cup. Kapil Dev was our hero," Madhu recollected.

When the Indian men's team, led by all-rounder Kapil, became world champions for the first time, an entire generation was hooked on cricket. Madhu's village, too, was gripped by the game, and he just wanted to be as fast and furious as the Haryana Hurricane. Imagine yourself as a village batter facing a 6 feet 4 inches pacer steaming down.

Madhu joined for his first PDC at the Devaswom Board College in Thalayolaparambu. Deep down, he dreamt of following in Kapil's footsteps. But his cricketing dreams were short-lived because the physical education teacher thought this lanky boy belonged on the volleyball court.

There was another problem: Madhu couldn't shake off the Kapil Dev in him. Volleyball players spike by arching their elbows back and whipping the ball. They don't rotate the arm over the shoulder, swinging it like a windmill, as in a typical cricket bowling action, which is how Madhu spiked.

Most trainers would insist on correcting something that weird, but veteran coach Kalavoor Gopinath thought that was alright and told Madhu to stick with his natural style. Under Gopinath's watch, Madhu emerged into a fine spiker. He played over 200 games for India, starring in some special events such as the Gold Cup triumph over Pakistan in August 1992 and the SAFF championships in Sri Lanka. It is incredible that without Kapil, Madhu might not have had a fulfilling volleyball career. "And all these years I never met him. Finally, I could meet my hero and take a few pictures. A dream come true," Madhu said.