The sprinter who runs to the beat of his own drum

Abhin Devadiga

Growing-up, little did young Abhin Bhaskar Devadiga know that the coordination between his hands and legs while drumming would give him an edge in developing a rhythm to sprint ahead of the other runners on an athletic track.

The 19-year-old from Udupi has been successfully juggling his twin passions of drumming and sprinting for over a decade now. While Devadiga has performed in over 1000 shows as a talented drummer, he has won more than 50 medals in various state and national athletic competitions.

The second-year B.Com student from Mahatma Gandhi Memorial College hit the headlines recently when he clinched the gold in the (under-20) 200 meters race at the Junior Nationals in Guwahati in February, clocking 21.34 seconds in which he narrowly missed out (0.03 seconds) on bettering the national record. Not too long ago, Devadiga had also finished on pole in the 200M at the Junior Federation Cup in Bhopal.

Hailing from Shanthivana Santhekatte in Udupi, Devadiga, who specialises in 100 and 200M sprints, was a prodigy as a drummer, making it to the India Book of Records as the youngest drummer to play spot music at a tender age of seven.

“I learnt playing the instrument from Sathish Bannanje and soon began performing in shows with his band Rhythm music group. Besides inaugurating the Mysuru Makkala Dasara in 2011 I have played in several concerts and weddings and continue to do so,” he said.

Devadiga’s life took a surprising turn from music to athletics in the fourth grade when he impressed everybody with his natural running technique during the sports day at Milagres English Medium School in Kallianpur.

“In a dilemma to choose between the two, my parents allowed me to pursue athletics only after the physical education teacher, Vincent sir, promised that it would not hinder my music practice or studies. He along with Mr Dolwin Dias recognised my potential as an athlete and nurtured it,” he added. The sprinters’ parents - father Bhaskar Devadiga, works at an automobile workshop and mother Asha, a housewife - have been his strongest support system, he says.

Currently training under coach Zaheer Abbas in Ajjarakad Mahatma Gandhi District Stadium, the teenager has a personal best timings of 10.5 secs in 100mts and 21.3 in 200 mts - his favorite among the two.

The pandemic, however, not only affected his earnings as a drummer with most concerts, public gatherings and functions getting cancelled, it also delayed the sprinters’ dreams of running for India.

“Had it not been for Covid-19, I would have donned the Tri-colour by now for the 2020 World Athletics U20 Championships in Nairobi, Kenya, that got postponed due to the coronavirus."

Now, I will not be eligible as I turn 20, two days before the event that begins in August this year,” he said.

Not the one to ponder over things beyond his control, Devadiga has his priority set on athletics and hopes to represent the country soon as he marches on to the beat of his own drum.

“While athletics is competitive in nature giving an adrenaline rush, music on the other hand helps me keep a calm mind and focus better. One complements the other and I'm lucky to be able to pursue two passions at the same time,” he said.