Rivals pool in for each other

Today, both of them are at the peak of their careers.

In fact, a glance down their growth chart provides for an interesting contrast.

Abhijit is broad shouldered and mentally tough while but Hakim is tall and lanky and physically tough. According to his coach Pradeep Kumar, Abhijit is determined and does what he sets his mind on, single-mindedly. Hakim, on the other hand, tries to do excel in everything. Abhijit’s forte is freestyle while Hakim’s is the butterfly.

One of the high points in Hakim’s life was beating Abhijit in the Trivandrum sub-junior Nationals in 1992 in the 100 freestyle. Incidentally, that was Hakim’s first gold. At Vijayawada, in 1995, Hakim overtook Abhijit for a National record in the 200m butterfly but Abhijit regained it in the senior Nationals the same year.

Nihar Amin, who trains Hakim at the K C R Swim Centre, felt that both boys were special. Abhijit knows how to handle stress as a competitor. Perhaps, that is what has given him the No.1 slot on the victory podium more often than Hakim has been.

The two share the same tastes in music and love action movies but Hakim is the more `grown up’ of the two though the calendar gives Abhijit a slight edge. “ Hakim is a very good person. I beat him, he beats me; that’s only in the pool. But he has pushed me to do better,” Abhijit admits.

Hakim is the more studious of the two. He had good grades in school with 89 per cent in science on maths and he has just finished pre university with over 80 percent marks. He just wrote his Common Entrance Test exams in the midst of competitions where he is entered in 14 events – one less than Abhijit.

But, in the pool, he thrives on their rivalry. “When Abhijit is not around, my timing is affected. We both give 100 percent and extend each other no matter which meet it is,” Hakim says. “So looking at the scene as a whole, I have made peace with myself since I know he is concentrating on swimming full while I am trying to be good at two things at the same time. So what if I am second best at times, As long as I am winning too…’