Vora siblings make a splash together

Presently, Nirav and Parag are employed with Western Railways and both donned the country8217;s colours in the same year.

Both were the members of champion PM Hindu Bath team which recently won the All-India Invitation water polo tourney here.

Nirav, quot;big brotherquot; for Parag, was a role model from the beginning as Nirav was very active in sports. He lead his school team in cricket, table-tennis and swimming.

As Pele once said, quot;Brazilians learn to kick as soon as they learn to stand up; walking comes later.quot; The same applied for the Vora family as Parag and Nirav got into the pool at a very young age andhave stayed there for 17 years.

Since 1983, Nirav has been a regular to the PM Hindu swimming pool. quot;As I was not a great swimmer, I concentrated more on water polo,quot; admitted Nirav, who played his first Nationals in 1988. Since then, Nirav has been a regular member of the Indian water polo team.

quot;John McEnroe once said, it8217;s a lot harder to stay there than to get there,quot; he quoted.

Parag, a commerce graduate from Sydneham College, finished his Masters in Business Administration from Institute of Travel Management, played his first junior nationals in 1990. His selection in the PM bath team by coach international Kishan Singh, he said, was a memorable day for him. He also represented his school Children8217;s Academy in Giles Shield cricket and tried his hand at table-tennis.

Parag laments the negligence of media coverage for water sport. While Nirav highlighted the poor state monetary benefits.

quot;A lot of aggression is required in water polo as your confidence is lack of confidence for your opponent,quot;says Nirav, who has a strong desire to meet Australia8217;s Steve Waugh. The reason being Waugh8217;s mental toughness. quot;He is not a stroke maker but a tough guy to get out especially when chips are down.quot;

While Parag likes the German tennis star Boris Becker. quot;His work, inception and fighting spirit is pure and like all the other German, you cannot take them for granted, they can bounce back anytime, any moment and from the worst situations.quot;

The past record of Indian team indicates a slide after the 8217;82 Asian Games where India won bronze but ended fifth in 8217;86 Seoul Asian Games.

In 1994, after a gap of eight years, India were sent to Tehran for an invitational tournament and lost to Kuwait 11-9, a team they used to beat regularly. In 1995, the Indian team won the gold at South Asian swimming competition at Calcutta.

For seasoned Nirav, Vivek Merchant, Shaiesh Bangale, Inderjeet Khadilkar, Ashish Sandu are players to look for in the coming years besides Parag.