Sunset Hoops: A soldier turned security guard's eternal love for basketball

Indore: As dusk sets in at the AECS RRCAT here, Radha Charan Sharma scores a three-pointer and follows it up with a lay-up shot to raucous cheers from students.

It's a daily routine for Sharma, a retired Subedar from the Indian Army. One evening someone recorded his play and uploaded it on the internet.

It went viral, turning him into a local sensation. His skills on the basketball court now a nation-wide talking point.

"When the kids came in the morning, they told me, 'uncle, your photo is amazing. You play basketball really well,'" Sharma, who works as a security guard tells The Bridge.

"I told them I don't play anymore. I used to play when I was in the army," he added with a sigh.

When the video blew up online, it was an opportunity for Sharma to reflect on his life; to revisit the memory of how it feels as if it was only yesterday that he saw the concrete court for the first time.

Lay-up shot started with a run

RC Sharma, son of a farmer, hails from Bind district – a place famous for Chambal and its yawning chasms.

In the middle of the city's countless tales of thugs and dacoits, Sharma decided to become a solider.

“Whenever soldiers used to come in their uniforms to our village, I would watch them think, 'I want to be like them one day,’” he recalled.

The young RC Sharma already had a passion for running. He used to scale the roads stretching along the canals back in his home town and the dreams of joining Indian Army fuelled his efforts.

"I used to wake up at 5 am in the morning and go running," said Sharma. "I would run for three to four kilometers. After that, I would come back and do some physical exercises.

"I used to do everything – running, high jump, long jump, 400 m, and even volleyball. But only in the Army did I learn how to play basketball," he added.

On 27 February, 1988, Sharma was enlisted into the Indian Army. It opened up a world of track and field, a proper net and a basketball court for him.

And then, not playing was never an option.

It all started on the Bairagarh road in Bhopal, where the newly recruited soldiers were asked to run. The finish point was the Colonel's vehicle – nobody knew how far it was.

Armed with his love for running from childhood, Sharma crossed the finish line first. The second place finisher was almost 400m behind.

The Colonel was impressed and sent him to the CMP centre in Bangalore.

This started a job for RC Sharma, which he would go on to serve for the next three decades. During his time with the Army, Sharma took up every opportunity where he could play sports.

In inter-company championships, Sharma used to run 800 m, scale cross country runs, and play basketball.

"If you play, then night duty in the army would be waived off," said Sharma with a laugh.

His duty took him from Bangalore to shores of Vishakhapatnam to valleys of Nagaland and even to the terra firma of Kargil.

But one landscape that he recounts with pride is the Rajpath.

“They saw that my driving was good and suggested that I ride a motorcycle,” said Sharma.

As India celebrated its 50th Independence day in 1997, Sharma performed a stunt as a part of the motorcycle display team of Crops of Military Police of the Indian Army called Shwet Ashwa (white horse).

Even as Sharma rode at the Rajpath for five times during his stint with the Indian army before he retired, sports remained an integral part of his life.

Post army life

Sharma's time in the Army came to an end in February 2018. He has since been working as a security guard RRCAT, Indore.

Years changed and so did his uniform but the love for sports remained flourishing like it was in Bhind ages ago.

Sharma, 58, still follows the same routine he had imbibed years before he joined the army. He goes for a run in the morning, he walks, and he plays whenever he gets a chance.

It's his love for sports and determination to stay fit that allows him to shoot the ball in the basket like “Wanted to be a Jordan,” as an internet user put it after the viral video.

"When I play or watch the kids play, those memories of when I used to run and play in the army all comes back to me," he said.

RC Sharma, even after a tiring shift, has no complaints on how his life turned out.

For tomorrow as the sun sets, he will play again.