TAKE TWO

Family name is not the sole uniting factor for Uday and Siddharth Kaul. Cricket,which runs in their family (Tej Kaul,the boys’ father,is a former Ranji player and senior coach with the Sports Authority of India),is what makes the two stronger. Elder among the two,Uday,now the skipper for Punjab ODI team,started his career in first class cricket in 2005. “My brother and I have a great time playing together. Siddharth has a lot of potential in him and everytime he knocks me out,I get bullied at home,” laughs Uday,as he talks about his brother,who was part of the Indian team in the Malaysia U-19 World Cup in 2008. The World Cup victory earned Siddharth a place in the Kolkata Knight Riders while his brother became a member of Kings XI Punjab. “My brother always inspires me to perform better and compete with no one else but myself. I feel at home whenever I get to play with him for Punjab,” says Siddharth,who always has a picture of Sachin Tendulkar with him as his lucky charm.

Arunima and Tarini Goyal: Chess

Indian women’s chess continues to see the upward trend with two upcoming chess champions in the city. Arunima,a student of Class VIII has both national and international titles in her kitty. Adding the World Master title to her profile would be an important feat with the black and white pieces. She clutched the title of Asian Master last year. Tarini,10,the younger one,was recently conferred with the Woman FIDE Master by FIDE( World Chess Federation) and has many other international achievements to her credit. “Chess always absorbed me and it is good to see the same interest in my younger sister. We practice regularly for two to three hours,sometimes together and at times individually,” says Arunima. Giving all the credit to their parents,Tarini says,“I am also lucky to have an elder sister who constantly guides me. Her chess tips are very helpful. It is hard to sense any feeling of competition or sibling rivalry,” says Tarini.

Tarundeep and Abhijit Chadha: Golf

Ranked number one among the amateur golfers,Abhijit has been an inspiration for his younger brother Tarundeep. “Initially,cricket was my game. Golf was introduced to us by a friend. Once I started participating and winning junior tournaments,I took it up seriously,” says the silver medalist,who recently won Faldo Series Asia held in China and Northern India Amateur Golf Championship,and finished third at a tournament held in Malaysia. Abhijit has plans to turn into a professional golfer this year. Ambitious Tarundeep,who is ranked second,is inspired by his elder brother,“It is a proud feeling that someone (Abhijit) in the family is doing so well. I by and large draw my enthusiasm from him,” says Tarundeep,who recently won the Northern India Juniors Golf Championship. He and his team also won gold in Asian Junior Golf Championship held in Malaysia. Jesse Grewal,their coach says,“It is difficult to compare,Abhijit is the best in his category while Tarundeep is doing well under the junior team.”

Fatehdeep and Karandeep Singh: Tennis

When Fatehdeep and Karandeep’s father,Ram Singh — a former national weightlifting champion — put his boys into tennis coaching,the idea was that they should not while away their after-school hours. But the boys took to tennis like fish to water. Karandeep,who is a Rafael Nadal fan,draws inspiration from his elder brother. “My backhand down the leg is my best shot,and according to me,my brother is best with his forehand. I do get jealous when my elder brother gets all the attention,” says Karandeep. From roller-skating to lawn tennis moves,Karandeep follows his brother’s footsteps. “Karandeep copies Fatehdeep without prior learning or teaching. Being a fast learner,sometimes just by observing,Karan picks up tennis moves which are being taught to his elder brother,” says the boys’ mother Sukhbir. Fatehdeep,ranked second with All India Tennis Association (AITA) plays for U-16,was a member of the Indian Junior Davis Cup team,while Karandeep,ranked Number 5 in AITA rankings,consecutively won All India U-12

(Chandigarh) and All India Championship Series U-12 (Chandigarh).