‘It takes a great skill’
IN THIS YEAR’S OLYMPICS, MOST OF THE MATCHES WERE HIGH-PRESSURE GAMES WHERE PLAYERS NARROWLY MISSED MEDALS. SO, APART FROM PRAISING THE WINNERS, WE HAD TO COMMEND PLAYERS WHO HAD TOUGH LUCK — AND SO TOUCH HEARTS. THE INDIAN WOMEN’S HOCKEY TEAM FOR EXAMPLE, ALTHOUGH THEY LOST, AS BROADCASTERS, WE KEPT APPRECIATING THE SPIRIT THEY SHOWED.
Though she has been part of the Pro Kabaddi league broadcast team, Radhika says commentating for the Olympics is a whole new proposition. Sometimes, broadcasters are even asked to commentate impromptu for a game. “At times, we have to enter the commentary box right in the middle of a new game, and take it from where someone has left off. Now that’s incredibly hard, but that’s how it is,” she smiles. To be able to talk and analyse different sports instantly is very challenging. We have to switch from one sport and move on to another and that’s so bloody challenging, there’s so little margin for error” she says.
“In this year’s Olympics, most of the matches were high-pressure games where players narrowly missed medals. So, apart from praising the winners, we had to commend players who had tough luck — and so touch hearts,” Radhika reveals, citing the example of the Indian women’s hockey team’s journey. “It was so near yet so far for them; although they lost, as broadcasters, we kept appreciating the spirit they showed,” she says.
Aditi Ashok, the Indian golfer who missed a medal by a whisker, was another example.
With regional sports channels emerging, global sports are being localised,
and are having more penetration. This has also resulted in a huge increase in viewership. “That was the reason why scores of people were glued to the Olympics this time. And the fact that India won several medals is a sign of things to come,” says Radhika.
The commentator, who is the mother of a 14-yearold girl, says, “I missed my daughter very much while I was broadcasting for the Olympics. I had to be in a bio bubble for around three weeks. The
hotel I was staying in was literally converted into a studio,” and reveals that she had to undergo Covid19 tests every three days. “We were not even allowed to step out of the hotel and get some fresh air. But thankfully, my husband (Srinivas, former Team India Kabaddi coach) and daughter were in touch with me over the phone,” she says, describing them as ‘her stress busters.’
As our conversation winds up, Radhika points out that women broadcasters are on the rise in all the sports — something she finds very encouraging. “Commentary requires great oratory skills, levelheadedness, and spontaneity,” she says, signing off.
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. GETTING TO KNOW ABOUT THE PLAYERS AND SOME OF THE BIGGEST SPORTING HEROES IN THE WORLD HAS BEEN A FANTASTIC EXPERIENCE