Jimmy George: The genius that towered over the rest

His peers also remember Jimmy to be a man with huge reserves of mental strength.

“Besides his jump, what was also several notches above any other Indian was his tremendous mental power,” national coach G.E. Sridharan had to say.

Sridharan said that Jimmy George was no ordinary attacker and believed that his explosiveness was down to his mental toughness.

“Jimmy was into meditation well before it came into Indian sport. When he came to the court after his quiet thought, we could just watch the stored energy explode. The whole mind and body came as one when he jumped into the typical body arc.”

Jimmy’s transformation from a meditative monk to an explosive attacker also lifted the team to new levels.

India benefited greatly from Jimmy’s Italian stint, winning an Asian Games medal at Seoul in 1986.

His teammates also remember Jimmy for the enthusiastic and endless rounds of blind-chess and memory games that he used to indulge in, in between matches.

Back home in Kerala, amongst the current generation, the memories of Jimmy George are those that they have witnessed through the old videos of him in action. Jimmy’s brother Sebastien, who played with Jimmy in his last match in India, carries with him tape compilations of his brother’s games which he takes around to be distributed amongst schools and colleges.

One piece of information that was and still is not known to many though, is the fact that Jimmy was a good swimmer too. He was twice the Calicut University champion – in 1971 and 1972 – and managed to bag four gold medals even.

However, with volleyball taking much of his time, swimming was left behind.

But, one would say, that the world was better for it.

It truly cannot be contemplated how well Jimmy may have fared in swimming, but as is common with most champion sportspersons, they seem to be in possession of an innate desire and tireless motor that propels them to success in most endeavours that they undertake.

Jimmy George, literally and figuratively, stood head and shoulders above everyone else during his time. In his quick ascent into the spotlight and his lavish skills as a volleyball player, Jimmy had made the jump into becoming a superstar.

He may not have had manic fans lining up on the streets, waiting to greet him or gatherings going hysterical on his mere sighting, but for a large group of volleyball fans in India and abroad, he managed to thrill and excite, in the process giving them the ultimate gift any sportsperson can hope to offer – moments of happiness.

It is said about sporting icons that when they are remembered in their home country, they represent the achievement of moderate to extreme success. But when they are remembered and honoured, as well if not more, on foreign soil then they have truly achieved something beyond just sporting success.

Jimmy George was one of those names whose legacy and achievements will be forever immortalized in the history of the sport.