iSport Exclusive: iSporter and sports psychologist Dr. Chaitanya Sridhar interviews swimming ace Rehan Poncha on his Arjuna Award, preparations for CWG and the swimming World Championships and more.
‘Discipline + Inspiration = Perfect Combination! ~ Paulo Coelho
The above quote best describes Rehan Poncha.
Olympian and Bangalore boy Rehan Poncha has been awarded the prestigious Arjuna Award for his remarkable achievements in the pool. He is an ace-swimmer and India’s hope in both Commonwealth Games and the Asian Games.
Rehan is the most successful Indian swimmer with three senior national titles, and twice a winner of the best sportsperson award at the National Games. The Olympian is also the proud owner of over 25 international medals.
Rehan Poncha is smart, witty, vivacious and humble. This young Olympian has been setting the pool ablaze around the world. After winning several titles in swimming, his hunger to conquer himself acts as a driving force to excel.
In an exclusive interview, Rehan talks about his achievements, his preparation for the upcoming Commonwealth games and goals after being awarded the Arjuna Award. His candid and witty comments are truly a revelation into the ace swimmer’s mental make-up.
Dr. Sridhar: Hearty congrats on winning the ‘Arjun Award’. What are your thoughts and how do you feel?
Rehan: It is a moment of pride for me- not only for me but I’m also extremely happy for my Parents and my coach Pradeep Kumar as well as my swim team at Basavanagudi Aquatic Centre. Even though swimming is an individual sport, it takes a group effort to make such ‘dreams come true’. I use this award as ‘motivation’ to train better for the CWG and race well there as well.
Dr. Sridhar: Tell us about your ‘most cherished victory’.
Rehan: One moment I will always cherish is the 4th of July 2008, the day I qualified for the Beijing Olympics. Also, my three senior national championships and two best overall athlete awards at the two national games are achievements. I will always cherish them as I have worked very hard for these events and I feel extremely happy when my hard work pays off.
Dr. Sridhar: What is ‘success’ to you? What factors have contributed for the same?
Rehan: Success to me is ‘improving myself everyday’. Of course, gold medals, records and awards mean a lot but at the end of the day, if I am a ‘better swimmer, an improving swimmer’ that to me is success.
Dr. Sridhar: How do you stay ‘motivated’?
Rehan: I am motivated because of only one thing- ‘My EGO’. It may be a good or bad thing, but that’s the reason I swim, the reason I train everyday, to get better. I cannot accept defeat and I know I’m not ‘top 16’ in the world, which is ‘my dream, my goal’. My ego doesn’t let me rest, it keeps poking at me and even though the awards and medals come, I will keep being ‘motivated’ till I make top 16 in the world. Also I believe that I have not yet reached ‘my potential’ as a sportsman and I will keep ‘plugging’ at it till I get to the top.
Dr. Sridhar: Sports must take up a lot of your time. How do you manage to make time for other things?
Rehan: I swim two times a day plus gym so it pretty much covers the whole week. Although on weekends, I love going for long drives and love watching tennis or other sports. I always make time to ‘relax’ with my music or watch a DVD. I feel I need to have ‘time for myself, to relax and clear my mind’; otherwise it all gets too much for me. And I always get my quick fix of facebook (big grin). As far as my studies go, I study from home and go to my university, Jain University to give exams.
Dr. Sridhar: What is your ‘mental preparation’ before a competition? What helps you perform well?
Rehan: ‘Pre-competition’- I use ‘music as a way to relax’; also I use it as a way to ‘pump myself’ to perform. Depending on my mood before a swim meet I choose the type of music I listen to. Also, I watch DVD’s to keep myself ‘distracted if the pressure is getting to me’. As far as ‘preparing just before I race’, I always try to ‘focus on the positives’, not think of any negatives that go through my mind. I also do some ‘breathing exercises’ before my races. At swim meets I’m totally fun to be with because I joke around a lot- trying to ‘get the pressure off’ a swim meet and just have ‘fun at my racing’.
Dr. Sridhar: Do you think or ‘talk to self’ when the going gets tough?
Rehan: Always, I’m always talking to myself, always thinking of something or the other connected to my sport. Swimming is an obsession for me, I love what I do and I am what I am because of my sport. I love to race at meets close to the sea. I love the beach and any body of water, I find it very relaxing to be around a water body, helps me do a lot of ‘self-thinking’. I am rarely alone, always with friends from the pool or family- so when I do get alone time I ‘focus on my aims/goals’ and think about what’s coming up next. When times are tough, I believe that ‘self-talk as well as sharing your thoughts’ with close ones is very important. I do it a lot- never believe in keeping things bottled up inside.
Dr. Sridhar: How do you stay ‘calm and focused’ during pressure?
Rehan: I am very good at dealing with stress; I just feel I have learnt to deal with it well. I use ‘breathing’ and many forms of ‘distractions such as music, movies, facebook’ or just talking to close friends or family are more than enough to help me get ‘rid of the stress’. Also, I feel that ‘pressure is good as long as it is in moderation’. It helps me keep motivated through training and it also helps me race well.
Dr. Sridhar: Highlights of your ‘US training’.
Rehan: Training abroad was very good; I worked a lot on the ‘power aspect’ of my swimming. I have always had endurance and stamina but power is what I lacked. Also, I have worked on my underwater skills, my stroke technique and several smaller but very important aspects of swimming. I did race four times in USA and racing is a form of training so that has helped me too. I have trained with swimmers who are world class, world record holders as well. All the time, I raise ‘my level of effort’ to keep up with them in training. So I have trained really hard and I hope it pays off.
Dr. Sridhar: How is your preparation for CWG?
Rehan: As far as training is concerned, I have been working for the games for the last 6 months and been training hard for several years now. I’m very excited to ‘race in front of a home crowd’ and I hope I don’t disappoint them. I always ‘respond well to pressure and expectation’. I love the sound of a crowd cheering, it gets me excited, and it gets me motivated to race. About a month of training to go, leaving for the US again for a 25 days training stint. Also, I have worked on my strength outside the water, in the gym as well as on land.
Dr. Sridhar: Tell us a little about your future ‘goals and plans’.
Rehan: I never make long term plans, always short term. I target timings I want to clock in future meets. As far as CWG goes, I want to ‘make top 5 in my events’ and also at the Asian Games. I have the World Championships next year and hope to swim well there and qualify for the 2012 London Games. Eventually, I hope that at the peak of my career, I can be ‘top 16’ in the world and may be ‘even better’.
Dr. Sridhar: A Rehan Poncha ‘line or quote’.
Rehan: It is good to be so stupid that you can not accept a loss or a defeat. Being stupid about it makes you keep at what you are doing and persevere till you get what you want!
Dr. Sridhar: Your message to budding Sports Enthusiasts and iSport fans.
Rehan: Love what you do! Make it your passion. Enjoy every moment and at times when you are down, remember that you can get knocked down, but there’s a lion inside you that will make you stand up tall again and again!
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a guest
said:
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... Enjoyed reading your interview with Dr.sridhar...Rehan you r the best.....May God fulfill all your dreams and help you in becoming world no.1 swimmer...All the best!!!!! |
a guest
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... very good interview. i enjoyed it very much.... great work rehan..... got to learn about the insides of your preparation. there are a lot of things we can learn from your interview and incorporate into our life as well.... |
a guest
said:
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... very interesting and enjoyable .. it is very unfortunate that atheletes like Rehan get castigated when they are not able to win Olympic medals by those people who have no clue about the effort that Rehan and his likes put in. keep striving hard rehan.. hope to see u in the top 16 and even better.. -- puneet |
a guest
said:
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... THNX FOR ALL UR COMMENTS..REALLY APPRECIATE EVERYONES ENCOURAGEMENT AND GOOD WISHES  I DO MY BEST ..HOPEFULLY IT GETS BTTR AND BTTR CHEERS |
Chaitanya Sridhar
said:
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... @ All: Thank you. Credit goes to Rehan for his humorous answers. Certainly a lot to learn from the interview. @ Rehan: thanks for posting your comment- very sweet of you. It was a great experience. Wish you the very best in your Competitions and may you Achieve your Dream soon. |
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