A meeting with International arm-wrestler and CK Nayudu's grandson Pratap Nayudu

It is a busy Saturday afternoon in Indore, the most populous city of Madhya Pradesh. I am already running late for my meeting and referring to the traffic the auto driver tells me in a sarcastic tone, “Yahan Ram rajya hai Sir, Jo jahan se chaahe aa jata hai” (It’s an ideal world Sir, people are free to come from anywhere).

Due to the extension of my previous meeting and the traffic, I reach my destination couple of hours late and have already apologised on the phone about the delay.

But as soon as I enter the office of Infobeans Technologies Ltd. in Crystal IT Park, I am greeted with a warm smile by its Country Head-Admin. I smile sheepishly and again apologise for being late.

This tall and well-built Country Head of Infobeans is 40 years old Pratap Nayudu, grandson of India’s first test cricket captain Col. CK Nayudu. After the exchange of pleasantries, as expected the discussion moves to his grandfather.

CK laid emphasis on physical fitness

Although Pratap was born almost a decade after CK (as he was fondly called) left for heavenly abodes, he has heard many stories about his grandfather. Pratap tells me that CK was a strict disciplinarian and laid a lot of emphasis on physical fitness.

He used to involve his children in the daily household chores like gardening. CK wanted the entire family to be involved in some sporting activities and as a result the family used to play Table Tennis post dinner at home.

“I am an International arm-wrestler”

I cannot help asking him why he did not take up sports as a career given the fact that his father Prakash Nayudu was also a first-class cricketer. Pratap modestly replies, “I did not take up cricket, but I am an International arm-wrestler.” I curse myself for not doing enough homework.

Like his grandfather, Pratap has also brought laurels to India at world events. He won a silver and a bronze medal at the World Arm-sports championship in 2013. In India, he won three consecutive medals in the Indian National Championships in 2013, 2014 & 2015.

Now, as arm-wrestling is not very popular in India (although it is played in around 150 countries), I am curious to know what got him into this sport. Pratap explains me in detail, “Being a tough power game, arm-wrestling has always fascinated me. And watching Sylvester Stallone starred move ‘Over the Top’ added fuel to fire.”

“People say that CK even walked gracefully”

CK Nayudu’s statue

He adds that he learnt to arm-wrestle from his father during his childhood. By choosing arm-wrestling, Pratap has inherited some qualities from his grandfather as well. CK was known to be a good wrestler during his early days.

In fact, as Pratap tells me, CK had a well-equipped gym in his house in Indore which was visited by many people, one of them being famous screenwriter Salim Khan.

As the topic again shifts to the legendary cricketer, Pratap says that he has heard a lot about CK’s charisma from his father.

He says, “People say that CK had a grace even in his walk. Cheeteh ki chaal thi” (He had the walk of a Cheetah). He also tells that his father always used to talk about CK’s aggressive batting. One wonders if Pratap as an arm-wrestler is also as aggressive as his grandfather was as a batsman.

Pratap is humble to the core

One quality which comes out strikingly is Pratap’s humbleness. While he was speaking with enthusiasm about his grandfather, there was never an iota of arrogance. The only time he seemed a bit disappointed was when I asked him what can be done to make arm-wrestling popular among the masses.

Lamenting the unpopularity of arm-wrestling, Pratap said, “A little recognition should be given to arm-wrestling. It should get due sponsorship from both public and private sector organisations. The state and central governments should include it in the list of mainstream sports.”

I also sincerely hope that the sports authorities and corporates take necessary steps to promote sports like arm-wrestling. Good backing from the authorities and state-of-art infrastructure can do wonders to the career of a sportsperson.

And little recognition to arm-wrestlers can go a long way in producing more Prataps who can do India proud at international events.

This meeting would have been incomplete had I not asked Pratap about the contribution of CK to Indore cricket.

He aptly tells, “From what I have heard, It won’t be wrong to say that CK brought Indore on the world cricket map.” And just like his grandfather did for cricket, Pratap has brought Indore on the world arm-wrestling map.