Sathish Kumar Sivalingam, when he was 13, weighed 37 kilograms. He was a little over four feet.
He wanted to be taller, stronger, perhaps after seeing and hearing about several weightlifters of his village, Sathuvachery, near Vellore. From here — the banks of the Palar — hails Tamil Selvan (silver medallist at the Edmonton Commonwealth Games in 1978), G Devan (Arjuna Award recipient), B Thangamani (silver medallist at the Brisbane Commonwealth Championship in 1981) among others. There was someone at home, too. His father, Sivalingam, who won several weightlifting medals — some at the National level — was a strong man. Hence, young Sathish sought strength.
That quest wasn’t long. Sathish got what he wanted and then some more. He now has two weightlifting gold medals, back-to-back, from the Commonwealth Games, three golds from the Commonwealth Championships and many at the National level.
The Sathuvachery boy who wanted to be tall and strong is now the alpha male among the weightlifters of his State. In Chennai for the launch of Fitup Fest, a fitness event organised by Dumbell and Brand Avatar to be held on April 6 and 7, he asks the people of Tamil Nadu to undertake the journey that he did — if not for medals and accolades, then, for a healthy life.
“It’s a good thing that an event related to fitness is happening in Tamil Nadu,” he says. “I see that a lot of people, due to their lifestyle, are spoiling their health. I hope at least 10% of those who attend Fitup Fest will take up fitness more seriously.”
A look at the National Health Policy of 2018 lends weight to Sathish’s statement. According to it, among those screened at Non Communicable Diseases clinics, Tamil Nadu has the most number of people diagnosed for diabetes and hypertension in the country.
“Since I am closely associated with fitness-related activities, I know their importance. If I stop working out for a few days, I can feel my body getting uneasy. When I restart training, the toxins in the body reduce and I feel good again. And, I am happy to do anything to make people take up fitness.”
Getting back to form
After the 2018 Asian Games in Jakarta, wherein he injured his thigh and back whilst attempting a 178 kilogram lift in the men’s 77 kg category, Sathish had been largely off the radar. “You guys don’t call me these days,” he jokes with the sports journalists.
Afar from the limelight, he trains for six to eight hours at the weightlifting camp at the National Institute of Sports in Patiala. The Olympics in Tokyo is a year away and the qualifying tournaments to get there are fast-approaching but for Sathish, the immediate goal is to mend his back.
“With other injuries, doctors give a time-frame for recovery. With this, however, they aren’t able to give me a definite time. It’s very difficult. I have to strengthen my core and back muscles. I have to follow a certain pattern while doing this. A slight difference to that might significantly increase my pain,” he says.
The pain of physical injuries apart, Sathish has also been dealing with missing family and friends whilst toiling on the training floor.
“From 2011 to 2019, I have come home only six times. I recently met my schoolmates… it was like the [Tamil] movie 96. We went out, had pani puri. Yeah, I miss out on these things.”
Still, he makes sacrifices, endures pain and toils in solitude. Why?
He goes back to the time when he was 13. “I participated in my first weightlifting competition — a district level event. Of the 15 contestants, I was 15th. I came home and cried. I thought I’d get a medal. But, finishing last, I was so alone — very far from the person who had come first. I wanted to be at the other end.”