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D6 THE OAKVILLE BEAVER Wednesday, May 2, 2001 --Sp eed y-- ·at* ··rwle* Brake Pads or Shoes QQ fro m LIFETIME GUARANTEE INCLUDED APPLE AutoGlass K / v S p o r t s l % t a b ` See manager for details. UPHOLSTERY... 112 Speers Rd., Oakville (ju s t w e s t o f K e rr) SEATS, BOAT TOPS, CONVERTIBLE TOPS... 1033 Speers Rd. An Oakville Beaver Feature Editor: N O R M N ELSO N Phone:845-3824, ext 255 Fax:337-5567 E-m ail :nnelson@ haltonsearch.com Squash star battled for her life By Norm Nelson B E A V E R S P O R T S E D IT O R Ruchika Kumar Sibling squash sensations Neha and Ruchika Kumar uchika Kumar lost her bid for a national squash championship in Montreal this past weekend. But that's nothing compared to the battle she won earlier this year -- for her life. The 16-year-old, Grade 11 Q.E. Park stu dent, in January, was struck with bacterial meningitis. The fateful day was Friday, January 12 and an Oakville Beaver writer was on her doorstep to do a story on her, as she had just come back from the British and Scottish Opens after having previously competed in the Canadian and U.S. Opens. And her 13-year-old sister, Neha -- a squash star in her own right, in fact a winner of her third straight hational championship this past weekend in Montreal -- told the Beaver writer that her sister had been rushed to hospital complaining of severe headaches. "They (doctors) pretty much told me that, first of all, the time factor, I was lucky," said Ruchika. "They said if I hadn't been diag nosed for another two hours, I think I pretty much wouldn't have made it through." Time was on her side, and so, ironically, was her health. Consider that Ruchika, only 15 at the time (but since turned 16), has already completed her second full yeai in Canada's top U-19 junior division. In other words, she is a squash phenom. And at the time of her meningitis attack, which can often be fatal, she was in peak condition. "They (doctors) pretty much attributed my surviving it to my mental and physical tough ness ... "They said most people, their bodies are not strong enough for us to pump some of these kinds of drugs and so then they can't make it through. I was at my peak condition then, having just come back from the British, Scottish, U.S. and Canadian Opens, so my body was really, really strong and could han dle all the drugs they pumped through. "The mental part of it was pretty big, too. I had the will to do it. Subconsciously some thing happened." Consciously, she doesn't remember a lot about the ordeal which put her in hospital for eight days, but it must have been horrific. "Yeah, definitely, more for my family than me just because I don't remember any of it. But knowing that I was in a situation like that, it's almost like, wow, you know, I'm R Little things that used to bug me before, it's just like, ah, you know, it's just a game. I mean losses still affect me, the tears are still shed, but it's for different reasons now. It's not, oh, I lost. Now it's, whoa, you know, I'm alive so it's okay, you know it doesn't really matter. Health is most important and I guess you kind of need a scare like that to really understand it, but it has definitely changed the whole per spective on my personality that way. - Ruchika Kum ar thankful that I was playing squash, then, because pretty much the mental and physical strengths that I got from squash pretty much saved me there." While she has fought many memorable battles on the squash court, none have obvi ously affected her like the battle for her life. "That has really affected it, I think, a lot," she agreed. "Just the overview. Little things that used to bug me before, it's just like, ah, you knowC it's just a game. "I mean losses still affect me, the tears are still shed but it's for different reasons now. "It's not, oh, I lost. Now it's, whoa, you know, I'm alive so it's okay, you know it doesn't really matter. "Health is most important and I guess you kind of need a scare like that to really under stand it, but it has definitely changed the whole perspective on my personality that way." Her recovery has also been wonderfully fast. "The doctor told me, right after I got out of the hospital, that if I didn't stress myself about school, if I didn't push squash or any thing, that it would be at least three months before I fully recovered. "But I went straight back into school, started the second semester, and I went right back into training." It was on Monday, February 19 that a press release came into the Beaver from her Burlington squash club that Ruchika had attended a squash tournament on the weekend -- just a little more than a month after her terrible ordeal. Not to watch, mind you, but to play! And more than play, she won. After playing squash at top national and international levels, she probably never imag ined that winning her local club tournament could be so sweet. And that was just the start. Over the March 30/April 1 weekend she went on to win the Ontario Open (as recount ed in the Beaver) which featured a strong line-up as it was a national junior team quali fier. She ended up winning the championship against Jacqui Inward. Now, that doesn't mean much to the average reader, but Inward won last weekend's national U-19 champi onship that Ruchika was gunning for. "Yeah, I don't know how that happened," she said, with a chuckle. "That was one of the most incredible moments of my life. I mean winning a tournament is a great feeling in itself but this was almost, like, a really, really personal thing. "It was a different tournament for me. Normally, I play competitive and everything. I mean I was competitive this time, too, but just being ... so much of a happier player on the court. "You know when you're given a scare like that you tend to take life in a different per spective. It was just sort of, oh boy, I'm happy I'm winning, but, oh my God, I'm happy that I'm on this court playing the game." As far as normal, every day living, Ruchika is completely recovered. As a finely tuned elite athlete, however, she's not quite at her pre-illness level. Not that that didn't stop her from the above mentioned Ontario Open win which probably contributed to her number one rank ing going into last weekend's U-19 national championship in Montreal. Ruchika sailed through her quarterfinal match in straight games but then lost 3-0 in the semifinals, which was very uncharacteris tic for her. "I guess everyone's entitled to one of those matches so that was my one for the season. "It didn't come at the best of times, you know, I guess you have to deal with those kind of matches and move on." And move on she did, regrouping the fol lowing day to win the bronze medal. "Luckily I was able to mentally refocus and then, for the third/fourth (bronze) spot, not lose it next day and get in a slump. I just sort of came back and said, I did it once, you know I'm not going to let it happen again." The bronze medal should all but assure her of a spot on Canada's four-member junior girls team which will be announced on May (S e e 'K u m a r' p ag e D 5 ) Sibling squash sensations medalat nationals As expected, the Kumar sisters each brought back hardware from the national squash championships held at McGill University in Montreal last weekend. Only 13 years old, Neha Kumar, a student at Heritage Glen, won the U -15 national cham pionships, coming through on her top ranking. It marked her third straight national title, having won the U-13 championship last year and the U -12 championship the previous year. "All the hard work paid off," said Kumar, who engineered one of her now patented comebacks to win the best-of-five U-15 national championship in four games over Alisha Turner of Ontario (7-9, 10-8, 9-7, 9-4). After losing the opening game 9-1 r Kumar was down in the second game 8-1 and in dan ger of being routed from the finals when she rang off nine straight points to steal the second game 10-8. "I just thought, stay calm ... that it will be less tiring for me if I push through now, instead of waiting for her to take another game." She also knew that if she could focus and get back in it, it would help shift the momen tum. The real back breaker, however, was in the third game when she was down 7-2 and man aged to come back, again, for the 9-7 win, putting her up 2-1. Kumar closed out the championship with a relatively easy 9-4 win. In her last tournament, at last month's pres tigious Ontario Open, in the U-17 division, Kumar rallied from a worse predicament to win 3-2 against Genevieve Lessard from Quebec. Down 2-1, Kumar faced three match points at 8-1, 8-5 and 9-9 before pulling off the improbable 10-9 comeback. A tough one to let get away, Kumar went on to win the fifth game 9-0 for the Ontario Open championship. No one is more impressed than her sister Ruchika Kumar, who is one of the top junior players in the country while still only 16 years of age. "It's crazy. The day we were leaving to drive down to Montreal we had a quick hit Wednesday afternoon after school and she was playing awful squash and I was freaking out," said Ruchika. "I mean she's playing really, really bad squash. "We're arguing the whole way down there, you know, Neha you've got to learn to do this, you've got to focus, you've got to do this, blah, blah, blah, and somehow at tournaments she always pulls it off. "There's pretty much nothing you can say to her. She's not really the training type of per son. She's not the kind of person who performs in practice. But at tournaments she has some thing in her that sparks ... I mean she's been down eight points, match ball, and come back!" "The mental toughness you need for that. She's just so confident, so sure and she knows exactly what she's doing. And she won't even, if she's down, play safe squash. She'll just go out there and hit winners from all over the place -- somehow pull them out of a hat. I don't know how she does it." With her squash season having come to a triumphant end, Neha will take a short break from squash -- but not from sports. On Monday, in fact, she finished second in the 100m dash at Heritage Glen and so she will be representing her school at the Halton track and field championships. Her best distance, though, she said, is the 400m which she also hopes to represent her school in (the school qualifier had not been held as of press time). BRONZE FOR RUCHIKA Ruchika Kumar, 16, the tournament's top seed even though she was playing up an age bracket in the U-19 division, settled for a bronze medal. After easily winning her quarterfinal match 3-0 over Elizabeth France of Alberta, the 16year-old, Grade 11 Q.E. Park high school stu dent struggled with her form in the semifinals, losing 3-0 to fourth seeded Miranda Rainieri of Ontario. Kumar then bounced back to beat Anne Christine Lajoie of Quebec 3-0 in the bronze medal match. For Kumar, however, any medal is precious to her, let alone one from a national champi onship in which she was playing up an age division. That's because Ruchika suffered a bacterial meningitis attack in January after returning from a tournament in Britain. The illness, which causes brain swelling, can potentially cause permanent mental disability and even death. Kumar spent eight days in hospital and is just now starting to regain her top form. "I feel lucky to be alive," said Kumar. "I didn't do anything for a month after my stay in hospital and my fitness went down to zero. I had to start from scratch. This week I just felt happy to play squash. I wasn't going for the win. Physically I felt pretty good but I still get dizzy if I over exert myself." - with files from Squash Canada Neha Kumar File Photos from last December by Barrie Erskine AIR CONDITIONING SERVICE OUNDAS & \ TRAFALGAR ROAD 400 Dundas St. E. f 0A K T0W N SHO PPING PLAZA 5 5 0 K e rr S tr e e t,^ Most vehicles HERE'S WHAT WE'LL DO: Inspect all belts and hoses, climate controls, compressor, and cooling-tan operations Check pressure and systems for leaks · Test vent temperature · Clean exterior of condensor 257-TIRE SERVICE HOURS: t v 7am-9pm, Sun. 9 a n v S (jd ^ m P 844-0202 STORE HOURS: Mon. -Fn. 8 ;30anv9D (l^g| Look for Our flyer in Friday's Oakville*. Beaver i A ccre dite d Test s.it `tanvtiprn 4 3ecM>r Facility