Florine Roche
Daijiworld Media Network - Mangaluru
Mangaluru, Aug 20: Living happily or living life to the fullest means different things to different people. For some it could be involving in activities for which they have an inclination or passion. Aurangabad based Jennifer Rodrigues with her roots in Mangaluru has done exactly that and has found bliss in pursuing an ‘unladylike’ sport which may not be the choice of many women in India. Jennifer is a judo player and a free style wrestler who has won accolades for her accomplishments both at state and national level competitions over a period of 16 years. Spending 16 years in this sport in a country where cricket is eulogised and where academic pursuit takes precedence over sports activities is quite an extraordinary achievement for Jennifer and her proud parents. She has excelled in multiple sports fields and has a brilliant academic achievement which makes her the all-rounder in the truest sense.
She hasn’t stopped at just that. For a go-getter like Jennifer there is no full stop when it comes to treading the path of success. Though her focus was on Judo and wrestling and she ‘managed’ everything to realise her passion without sidetracking from her academics. Having completed her MCom and MBA (Marketing) she took another decisive step of giving vent to her other passion of becoming an entrepreneur. It has been two years since she started her own business in Aurangabad "Genees Global Marketing Corporation". It is a Marketing and Advertising firm wherein she markets products of other companies both online and offline.
Getting into business also mean she has taken a temporary sabbatical from her sports to concentrate on business. "If I set my eyes on something I don’t give up until I achieve it. I am surrounded by family and relatives who are self employed and are into business. Naturally I had this strong longing to become a business woman. Having got into the business I feel I am in the right track now", she says with an air of confidence that can unsettle you for a moment. That is Jennifer Rodrigues for you, an achiever in multiple sports achiever, an entrepreneur, academically qualified and hold your breath - a fabulous cook. She is a perfect combination of talent, beauty and brains.
With so much involvement on sports it was not easy for Jennifer to do the balancing act managing academics along with sports. Judo is a disciplined sports and it requires regular training and practice always in need of another opponent or coach. When she was only into playing Judo she used to practice only in the evenings for about two hours. Spotting her talent Sports Authority of India (SAI) took her under its wings and naturally she had to undergo practice for at least 4 to 6 hours regularly. Jennifer was ready to undergo any sacrifices as long as nothing came in the way of her regular sport itinerary. Despite giving full support to their daughter to pursue her passion her parents were a bit apprehensive and they even arranged tutors at home to her cope with studies. As Meena points out "considering her commitment for sports she had to miss her regular classes and she had taken permission from college as she was a SAI candidate. But we insisted that she complete at least her plus two level so that she is on a safer side".
Born and brought up in Aurangabad to Robert and Meena Rodrigues - the Mangalurean couple settled in Aurangabad - Jennifer was quite an active child. Robert who hails from Puttur had his education in Mangaluru and after doing his CA settled in Aurangabad having his own CA firm. Her mother Meena is a self-employed woman who has set up one of the largest beauty salons in Aurangabad. May be the entrepreneurial streak exhibited by Jennifer is genetic as apart from her parents her grandparents from either side are also e entrepreneurs.
Jennifer exhibited early signs of her proclivity towards strength games when she was barely 6 years old. When other kids of her age were busy playing with toys Jennifer had this natural impulse to lift and pull heavy objects, be it pulling a gas cylinder, heavy luggage bags etc., as she had oodles of energy. "When girls of my age were playing with dolls or watching cartoons I enjoyed only WWF and from a young age I knew what I wanted", Jennifer explains. Her parents who saw her penchant for pulling, throwing and lifting decided to channelize her vigour and got her admitted to a nearby judo class. Her mother Meena recalls "as a child Jennifer showed lot for appetite for lifting heavy objects and we were really surprised to see natural energy in her. We decided to channelize that energy by admitting her to judo club and we are happy we did that".
The judo club proved to be right platform for Jennifer to utilise her energy into developing her natural talent for strength sports. Coach Laxmikanth Kichi identified her potential and moulded her talent diligently converting her into a judo champion. When she was in 12th one of her college teachers suggested her to try her hand in wrestling. In the very first attempt itself she won a medal for Maharashtra in wrestling. Considering her high energy levels she was forced to practice with boys of her age to constantly improve as there wasn’t any girl to match her dynamism. Her success and achievements in sports reached its zenith when she was selected for the International Ssireum Wrestling World Championship in 2011 held in Seoul. She was the first and probably the only lady who represented India at Ssireum Wrestling championship and she reached a respectable quarterfinal stage. "I was the only girl in the club who used to play with boys because there wasn’t any girl who could match my energy and strength. In a way that practice and training helped me to be a powerful player", she asserts.
Jennifer says she took a liking for Judo from the very first day because in Judo falling techniques are taught to the learners first before teaching other techniques. These falling techniques, she feels give a sturdy foundation for honing the skills for a judo player. Jennifer attributes her achievements in judo and wrestling to her endless energy and quick reflex action. "Judo is a mental game wherein strength and mental agility go hand in hand to attain success. My main strength was my ability to apply technique from both sides which not many players are able to do with élan" she explains. Judo is a high risk game and despite her long innings in Judo and Wrestling Jennifer is fortunate not to have suffered any injury.
Jennifer has to keep a watch on her weight because of the weight group category. Since the categories in these games are according to weights of participants candidates who cross the weight category even by 10 gms are disqualified. For Jennifer weight was not at all a problem and with regular warm up, exercise, practice and by following a regular fitness regime she was able to maintain her weight under required control.
While Jennifer took to Judo and Wrestling out of her own volition and passion and her parents approved her choice and supported her there were others who asked questions like ‘why go for these strength games when there are so many other sports and games’?. For all these queries Jennifer‘s only answer was that she is passionate about these games and hence opted for it. Even Meena had to face similar questions from family friends who used to remark "judo and wrestling is not the right sport for girls". However, despite giving their full support to Jennifer to pursue her passion they kept a close watch on her training schedules and whereabouts during practice and competitions. Her father accompanied her during her Seoul trip for Ssireum World Championship and a few national level competitions.
That Jennifer is a multi-disciplined sports person is established from the fact that she has been the captain of Football and Basketball teams of her school and college at various college, university and state level competitions. These are high energy games and naturally Jennifer showed her competence in these games.
Though Jennifer has been out of active Judo and wrestling competitions for two years, she hasn’t said goodbye to it. She says "I have just taken a two year break from sports to concentrate on business and also to get settled down". Though settled in Aurugabad Jennifer has strong ties with Mangaluru as she often visits the city to meet her cousins and relatives and speaks chaste Konkani.