9-yr-old Chennai hula hooper carves her name in Guinness book, puts spotlight on unexplored sport
Hula hooping, a part of rhythmic gymnastics, remains unexplored in Chennai in spite of 75 students from the city finding themselves a place in Guinness World Records. DT Next speaks to one of the youngest achievers and the trainer to discover the reason behind the unawareness of the sport
Janani Shiva
CHENNAI: Cricket, football, tennis, badminton, and swimming are a few of the well-known sports in Chennai, among the many unexplored ones. Most people in an urbanscape use the hula hoop as a mere fitness apparatus, but there is more to it.
Three years ago, Janani Shiva from Class 4 went to a sports goods retail shop and was instantly drawn by the hula hoop. As she wanted to delve deep, her mother Swarnalakshmi enrolled her in Chennai Hoopers, after six months of research. “There is hardly any place where people can learn about hula hooping,” says Swaranalakshmi, Janani’s single parent.
After two years of determined training, Janani has carved her name in the Guinness World Record for the most hula hoop rotations around the foot while lying prone in one minute. “Initial days were quite challenging for me to get control over the hoop. But I was able to excel in that. After a month of strenuous training, I was able to achieve the record,” shares the 9-year-old.
Minister Anbil Mahesh praised Janani Shiva for her dedication in achieving a record, accompanied by her mother Swarnalakshmi
When Janani shared her achievements with her friends, many were not aware of such a sport. “It is my mom, who is my biggest supporter and inspiration. I want to reach the national level and take part in the Olympics someday,” she adds.
Talking about hula hoop as a sport, Janani’s trainer Vijayalakshmi states, “It is a part of rhythmic gymnastics that comprises hoop, ball, ribbon, rope and clubs. It is a combination of gymnastic steps and dance. One interesting feature is that it is only for girls.” She has trained several students and Janani is her 75th student to achieve the Guinness record.
Notably, the awareness about hula hoop as a sport is widespread in northern states in the country. “In Tamil Nadu, we have bare minimum knowledge about the sport. It is more than just controlling the hoop in the hip. We opt for various online sessions from trainers in the northern part of India for our students. I feel that the sport has to be made a part of every school like how we have cricket, basketball and football,” suggests Vijayalakshmi, who has more than a decade of training in hula hoop and three years in rhythmic gymnastics. She sadly mentions that most people aren’t aware of how many records the native students are placing in the Guinness World Records.