‘There’s very little margin for error in broadcasting’
The first Olympics commentator in Telugu talks about her exhilarating experience at the Games
She’s a familiar voice to many Kabaddi fans. Radhika Reddy is among a handful of women who have broken the glass ceiling when it comes to commentating on men’s sport.
Commentating on a game, regardless of the sport, is an art. And after having been the first woman to take to the microphone with the Pro Kabaddi League a few years ago, Radhika has now become the first broadcaster to commentate in Telugu for the Tokyo Olympics.
The Hyderabad woman says it has been an exhilarating experience to commentate for the Olympics. “Just like every player dreams of being part of the Olympics, it is every commentator’s dream to be behind the mike for the Games. It’s a great experience,” says Radhika. “Getting to know about the players and some of the biggest sporting heroes in the world has been a fantastic experience,” she adds.
“Commentating and talking about some of the biggest sporting personalities, their records, etc., gave me a new high,” shares Radhika. Although she has been broadcasting for the past few years, it was only for Kabaddi. But since Olympics has around 35 different sports, she had to prepare a lot. She was at the studio in Mumbai for three weeks before the start of the event, researching the various sports, players, their records, laws of the games, etc.
“I had to work so hard. Since I was new to all the sports, I had to do considerable research and understand the game rules. I watched the videos of various sports and learnt about emerging players and their track records,” says Radhika, adding that since each sport has different laws, it was even more challenging.
“The best part of broadcasting is your ability to read the sport and give your perspective in a way that is significant to the followers of the sport,” she shares, adding that the joy of commentating is something she doesn’t want to give up on. “Commentating is all about expressing your joy for the sport; that’s when people connect to you,” she says, talking about challenges and pleasures of the job.
Since it is for the first time that Telugu audiences are listening to the Olympics commentary in their own language, Radhika also needed to ensure that her listeners knew the basic rules of each sport. She says she enjoyed understanding the game strategies of each sport, the techniques, how players scored, and analysing performances. “Making game analysis and giving a perspective is a very sensitive issue, so we have to be balanced in the way we give our views,” she points out.
“I HAD TO WORK SO HARD.
SINCE I WAS NEW TO ALL THE SPORTS, I HAD TO DO CONSIDERABLE
RESEARCH AND UNDERSTAND THE GAME RULES. I WATCHED THE VIDEOS OF VARIOUS SPORTS AND LEARNT ABOUT EMERGING PLAYERS AND
THEIR TRACK RECORDS.”