Vijay Punjabi, the recently-crowned National champion in tenpin bowling, is enjoying every bit of the brief lull before another stretch of hectic practice sessions prior to the upcoming National Team Championship.

Getting back to the routine responsibilities of the family-run department store a night after a victory might well be the swift switch-over the Bangalorean will need to get used to, given the amateur nature of the sport in the country. Anyhow, the champion now certainly can expect more smiles of recognition and congratulatory handshakes from otherwise strangers in his hometown.

Though his surname bears his lineage in Sindh province of Pakistan, the 37-year-old belong very much to Bangalore as his father had moved south from Pune for business reasons. A student of St Joseph’s Boys’ High School and later Seshadripuram College, Punjabi was introduced to tenpin bowling by his friends purely as an entertainment.

Punjabi was 28 then and after nine years, he is the National champion. The bowler explains how he grew fond of the ‘fun sport’ and then took the decisive plunge. “At first, it was just a recreational activity among my friends at a bowling centre on Brigade Road. Then, we started competing with other centres and then with the promotion of the game in mind, we joined hands with our opponents to conduct more tournaments. Gradually, I grew passionate about the game and took it seriously.”

Dream success
After missing out in the selection trials on quite a few occasions, Punjabi qualified for the Nationals for the first time in 2005. On debut, he ended up 14th and the next year, he moved up to the eighth spot.

So, was the 2007 triumph a surprise for him? “I have been dreaming about the title right from the time I turned competitive,” comes the candid reply. It was not a bed of roses for the late entrant — making it to the state team and then the national squad before overcoming some tough challenges to bag the National title.

“It is different from the case of someone who takes up the game seriously in the teens. When I turned competitive, I was already an earning member of the family and business was my bread and butter. Also, the game is very expensive and it took a lot of sacrifices from me and my family to ensure that I met my practice schedule without hitches,” recalls Punjabi.

The triumph at the Star City bowling centre last week is a reward to this commitment, but Punjabi says the experience he gained at the Doha Asian Games played a vital role in this victory. “The exposure we (Indian team) had at Doha was terrific. We saw some great players there and watched their style of execution and line of play. I think without the Asiad experience, I would not have become the national champion now.”

Cherishing the big moment with him is the ever-supportive family. “When he thinks about bowling, he is not bothered about anything else,” says his proud wife Megha.

Anyone watching Punjabi in action can hardly miss that point. He is ecstatic when a strike comes by and is dejected when a good opportunity goes abegging. “Yes. I am aggressive on the field. I express my emotions immediately,” says Punjabi, who fought his way back into the reckoning after a slow start.

“I am always a climber as I pick up gradually through each rounds. The same pattern was followed in the Nationals when I trailed badly in the initial two days. Also, I prefer long oil conditions, but I have also done better in short oil,” elaborates Punjabi.

Hook specialist
Another vital aspect of his bowling is that he is a hook specialist rather than a spin expert. “Foreign coaches who had come down to Bangalore advised me that hook way is better suited to my technique and arm span.”

Jimmy Lee, the Malaysian coach who comes to Bangalore on brief stints since 2005, is working on Punjabi’s game and the results are impressive. “Earlier, I averaged around 170 pinfalls in a block of six games. But now, I am striking 200-plus pinfalls. In the Nationals, I secured 21 200-plus pinfalls out of the 42 games and my overall average was just under 200,” states the confident bowler.

Punjabi says he owes a lot to the state association and thanks his team-mates for supporting him. “With the support we have, it’s no surprise that Karnataka are dominant on the National scene,” he says.