Unwind

After the Asian Games,Kumar is ready to play another round of kabaddi with his cousins.

I owe my strength to my stay at the village. My uncle was a kabaddi and hockey player and I spent the entire last week listening to his stories and to his suggestions on my training. He is over 80 years old but still makes sure that I follow my training properly, says Kumar.

While Kumars mornings are spent ferrying sugarcane and paddy to Bhiwani from his village,his evenings are reserved for kabaddi sessions at the local stadium.

Kumar,who is an inspector with the Haryana Police,will soon also spend some time at the Haryana Police Training Centre at Madhuban. Most of us boxers are employed with the Haryana Police and we often train together at Madhuban. Apart from boxing training,we also attend English classes at the training centre. We are from a rural background,so we need these classes, says Kumar. Nitin Sharma

Prajusha Maliakkal,Long jump Silver,CWG

For Prajusha Maliakkal,the past month has been a welcome break from training and following a strict diet. Since the start of this year and till the Guangzhou Games came to an end,I dont recall being home for more than a couple of days. I trained really hard and was so focused on trying to deliver my best that I didnt get any time with my friends or relatives back home, she says.

After she returned home to Chalakudy in Keralas Thrissur district,Prajusha was down with an eye infection but is now ready to join the year-end celebrations. It is lovely that I will be spending Christmas with my family as it is my favourite time of the year. I will also make a trip to the shrine of Our Lady of Vailankanni to pray for all the success I have had this year, she says. Nihal Koshie

MC Mary kom,Boxing Bronze,Asiad

Indias five-time 48-kg boxing world champion,MC Mary Kom,has spent much of 2010 preparing for bouts in a higher weight categorythe 51 kg. A fraction of that year and some considerable amount of mind was also applied to lugging 20 kg of special Manipuri rice around for national camps as the 27-year-old prepared for the Asian Games. Back home at Imphal,there are fewer worries about how best to simulate her favourite Manipuri cuisine.

Breaks are all about my kids and cooking. I also like dancing and take a keen interest in fashion, says Mary Kom. Cherishing the din at home as her children play with husband K Onler Kom,she says,At camps and during tournaments,theres absolute silence. Shivani Naik

Ashish Kumar,Gymnastics Bronze,CWG and Asiad

IT has been an endless round of parties and felicitation functions for Ashish Kumarfirst after the Commonwealth Games and then after the Asian Games. The biggest party was on the day he turned 20.

Earlier,my birthday celebrations used to be low-key affairs,but this time,it was grand. The venue was a guesthouse at Allahabad and about 200 guests were invited, he says.

I have been attending a lot of weddings these days. Recently,I accompanied my father to Kolkata for a wedding, where I danced, he says.

What has been his most rewarding moment after the Asian Games? Getting promoted from senior clerk to Chief Office Superintendent at the North Central Railway, he says. Wajiha Shah

Paramjeet Samota,Boxing Gold,CWG; bronze,Asiad

BOXER Paramjeet Samota has just returned home from the fields in village Dinaud near Bhiwani in Haryana. He greets everyone cheerfully. Ram Ram,let me park the tractor and Ill join you, says Samota as he helps his cousins unload sugarcane-stacks off the tractor.

After the Asian Games,Samota is back home,helping his father in the fields. My father makes sure that I go to the field every day. Fortunately,I could do the sowing as its nearing the end of the season. When I was a child,Id help my father with ploughing. Now we have a tractor and I drive it. Kids come and sit with me and it makes me feel great. Nothing beats the work in the village and it helps me relax as well as remain in good shape, he says.

The 511 boxer won Indias first-ever gold medal in the super heavy-weight category at the Commonwealth Games this year but a loss to a 120-kg Chinese meant that Samota ended with a bronze medal at the Asian Games. The 95-kg boxer is also making sure he can add as much weight as he can during his 40-day stay at home.

As his mother Angrez Kaur is unwell,Samota is doing his bit in the kitchen too. I love churma made of roti,ghee and jaggery. I miss all this food when I am at NIS,Patiala. My mother was not well last week and I made rotis and churma for my parents. Yesterday,some boxers came and we all made churma together, says Samota.

In the evenings,he usually heads off to the Bhiwani Boxing Club. Our village does not have a bus service. I am mostly free during the day and I often drop village kids to school. Whatever I am today,its due to my village. The only difference between my life then and now is that today even the village kids treat me like a star, says Samota. Nitin Sharma

Vikas Krishan,Boxing Gold,Asiad

In May this year,when Vikas Krishan became the world youth champion,he called up his father Krishan Yadav,asking him to buy him a car. His father refused since he was only 17 then. Six months later,as the 18-year-old boxer,who ended Indias gold medal drought of the last 12 years in boxing at the Asian Games,gets ready for a drive with his friends in Bhiwani,his father is only too eager to give him the car keys.

After I became the world youth champion,I wanted to learn driving. But my father was adamant that I get my licence first. Though I managed to get my licence,I got busy at the NIS camp. After coming back from China,I have been driving our new car with my friends. We want to visit Haridwar and Shirdi soon, says Vikas as he gets ready for a trip to Amritsar with his cousins.

The boxer,who is enrolled in a local college in Bhiwani,is now ready to get back to his books. It is time to prepare for my BSc exams. I wish I could learn a new language too as we have to travel abroad a lot. Maybe after the London Olympics,I will learn a new language like French or Spanish, says Krishan. Nitin Sharma

Sini JOSE,Athletics 4215;400 relay gold,CWG amp; Asiad

The Jose family in Kothamangalam,in Keralas Ernakulam district,has been celebrating for some time,ever since Sini Jose brought home the medals earlier this year. Christmas has only added to the joy.

The excitement began with the middle-distance runner winning the relay gold at the Commonwealth Games in October. A gold at the Asian Games in November,a grand welcome and a string of felicitation functions meant that 2010 ended on a great note.

This is my best Christmas. I want to now spend this festival season with my friends and family and also use the time to thank God for everything he has blessed me with, she says.8211;Nihal Koshie

Vijender Singh,Boxing Gold,Asiad; Bronze,CWG

A quick glance at the mirror and Vijender Singh is ready for a busy day ahead. The 24-year-old pugilist has to drive down from hometown Bhiwani for a lunch hosted by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh,followed by TV shoots for a few advertisements. After bagging a gold medal at the Guangzhou Asian Games,Singh has spent most of his time at his village Kaluwas. But the five-day tour of Delhi and Mumbai will mean that the pugilist will spend most of time facing the camera.

I am lucky to get offers from television. But I always remember that whatever I am today is due to boxing and not modelling. Since we have a month-long break,I am doing some television shows. But once the camp starts,my whole life will revolve around NIS,Patiala, says Singh,who rallied gamely from his Commonwealth Games setback.

After the Asian Games,I wanted to celebrate my win with my family and friends and I even switched off my phone for a week. I spent time in my village,had home-made food,sat at the village chaupal and rode motorbikes with my friends, says Singh,who will be joining the national camp in January.

Whenever he gets time,Singh also visits religious places. All of us go to Mastauna Sahib. Every time we win a medal,we go barefoot to the gurdwara which is about 70 km from Patiala, says Singh. Nitin Sharma

Anita Sheoran,Wrestling Gold,CWG

The neatly cut onion pieces are kept aside,its time to turn to the flour. For the next five minutes,Anita Sheoran focuses all her energy into kneading the dough. She then rolls out the rotis with her bandaged hand,but cant manage that perfect circle. Today,Sheoran is trying her hand at cooking.

Cooking is more difficult than handling an opponent on the mat. I am certainly not the best cook,though I can make roti and sabzi. My mother takes care of my diet and she doesnt usually let me come inside the kitchen. But sometimes I persuade her to let me cook.

After her morning training sessions,Anita finds time to meet relatives and friends and is learning to drive her her new car,which she was awarded during a felicitation ceremony. Once I learn to drive properly,I would like to take my parents out, says the 26-year-old resident of Dhani Mahu village in Bhiwani district. Tashi Lundup

Mandeep Kaur,4X400m relay Gold,CWG amp; Asiad

Its 5 in the evening and Mandeep Kaur is getting ready for another practice session. The 22-year-old athlete,who was a member of the womens relay team which won gold medals both at the Commonwealth Games in Delhi as well as at the Asian Games in Guangzhou,is preparing for a run with the kids in her village,Cheema Khurd,near Amritsar. The villages proximity to the India-Pakistan border has meant that children in the village do not even get a chance to watch television and the athlete is keen to put their energy to good use.

The last time I spent so much time in the village was over five years ago. Our village is just two kilometres from the Indo-Pak border and children here have no idea about running. Most of the fields here were covered with minefieldsthey were removed after 2005. I came home only four days ago and the kids are already excited about running. Sometimes they turn up at 4 a.m. for training, says Kaur.

The athlete,who won accolades for the way she finished the relay race,started running while she was at a boarding school in Kairon,a neighbouring town,and was selected to the national camp in 2003. A month after attending the national camp,Kaur returned to her village and recalls that she nearly stepped on an active landmine. I walked down the narrow road before someone from the village shouted and asked me to return. The incident made me strong mentally, says Kaur.

Apart from training children to run,shes also helping them with their lessons. And Kaur has finally found time to shop.

Nitin Sharma