Hello Gents... an update on my Olympic journey and my jackets...

[Navin323i]

Hello Gents!
It has been a while since my last post and life continues to get more amazing by the second. Last year I proudly represented the USA for an Olympic level competition in Romania, and I wound up doing great in beating my opponents from Japan and Russia before losing to a tough Germany team that went on to win the Bronze medal in my event class. But as far as I'm concerned, there is NO LOSING whenever I play table tennis because the game continues to improve both my Parkinson's Disease and my heart condition, and the TRUE medal for me is getting to represent my country, the USA, and representing Parkinson's warriors worldwide, hopefully giving them and all my other friends and family hope. We can't let the difficult times stop us from pursuing our dreams and passions in life.

I am honored to announce that I will be representing the USA next month for table tennis when I compete in GERMANY from June 12th thru the 18th. I will be in Bayreuth, Germany which is near Nuremberg in Bavaria state.

I was recently featured on ABC Television News so I'm including a link below for that, and I've been traveling nation-wide to give motivational talks, and I gave the keynote speech at a Parkinson's Symposium a few weeks ago in New Orleans, Louisiana, which you can also watch on my Youtube page. I continue to proudly wear my Aero NYPD Leather Jacket made in memory of my police chief grandfather, and I also wear a special jacket that my youngest daughter had made for me to wear during my table tennis competitions, which I'll include a picture of...

ABC Television Feature - 4/12/17

 

[ButteMT61]

@Navin323i - Dude! You make me so proud, and honestly, a bit embarrassed for my moments of self-pity.
The video is amazing, and I am glad things are going so well for you. Winning medals is great, but you have the right attitude about it and that's what we've lost as a society - the pride of representing and competing over trophies.
I dig that you are wearing the NYPD jacket in memory of your grandfather - my biggest influence on me was my Granddad. I'm hoping I do 1/10 of what mine did for my grandchildren...

Continued success and keep the attitude. The Lounge is lucky to have you brother!

 

[Cocker]

Trully inspirational! Hats of to you, Navin!

 

[Guppy]

How about some pics of the jackets? ;-)

 

[Navin323i]

@Navin323i - Dude! You make me so proud, and honestly, a bit embarrassed for my moments of self-pity.
The video is amazing, and I am glad things are going so well for you. Winning medals is great, but you have the right attitude about it and that's what we've lost as a society - the pride of representing and competing over trophies.
I dig that you are wearing the NYPD jacket in memory of your grandfather - my biggest influence on me was my Granddad. I'm hoping I do 1/10 of what mine did for my grandchildren...

Continued success and keep the attitude. The Lounge is lucky to have you brother!

Great to hear from you! Thank you so much for the kind words! I'm very lucky to have YOU ALL and the Lounge... great group of folks here.

 

[Navin323i]

Trully inspirational! Hats of to you, Navin!

Thanks, my friend!

 

[Navin323i]

How about some pics of the jackets? ;-)

Hey Guppy! I did post a picture of my special jacket (the one my youngest daughter had made for me). Were you not able to see it on your screen? I'll definitely post some updates of the Aero jacket shortly... with my Parkinson's, it's tough for me to type for too long.

 

[Peacoat]

Great video. I didn't see it because I am more of a CBS man from the Walter Cronkite days, but that is quite impressive. Good luck to you in the Olympics.

 

[ton312]

Very impressive Navin! It takes some serious dedication and discipline to be an Olympian. It was my dream to do just what you are doing, as a diver, for most of my life. Unfortunately, I came close but couldn't quite get there. Much respect and admiration to you! Best of luck man!!

 

[Deleted member 16736]

Thanks for the update, Navin. I'm proud to call you my friend. But you're not looking very vintage. Here's some inspiration for you:

 

[ProteinNerd]

Hey Navin, thanks for the update! Damn you're killing it!
It's weird, I was actually thinking of you today. Something reminded me of my old LVC Aero Blue Black jacket that I had for a while that you got at some point as well and I was thinking of how that jacket has done more international travelling than me recently lol.
I thought you ended up with a Route 66 out of that? Did that not work out for you?

 

[Peacoat]

Joel, is that James Dean in the third picture down? Haven't seen that one before. Quite a heavy duty net he is using.

 

[Navin323i]

Great video. I didn't see it because I am more of a CBS man from the Walter Cronkite days, but that is quite impressive. Good luck to you in the Olympics.

Thanks, my friend!!

 

[Navin323i]

Very impressive Navin! It takes some serious dedication and discipline to be an Olympian. It was my dream to do just what you are doing, as a diver, for most of my life. Unfortunately, I came close but couldn't quite get there. Much respect and admiration to you! Best of luck man!!

Thanks, my friend! Much RESPECT to you on your diving efforts!! The fact you were able to give it your best effort, you succeeded no matter if you made it or not. I feel the same way about table tennis. My best game comes when I eliminate winning and losing from the equation. I've already won because I have the privilege of playing this sport for the love of the sport and representing the USA and representing Parkinson's warriors worldwide... those are my true gold medals which I've already won and eclipse any physical medal I might win.

 

[Navin323i]

Hey Joel! Great pics you posted! I'm actually quite into the classic version of table tennis played from the 1930s thru 1950s and is making a comeback today. Google "hardest table tennis". These are pimples rubber table tennis bats with no layer of sponge between rubber and wood so the game plays slower and less spinny than the modern sponge game that the Chinese dominate. I'm a collector of old hardbat paddles including a few made by Dunlop in honor of legendary British/Hungarian player and my inspiration, Victor Barna. I also have an old pro bat from the 1930s made by "Macrossen"... a legendary American table tennis bat maker.

 

[Navin323i]

Hey Navin, thanks for the update! Damn you're killing it!
It's weird, I was actually thinking of you today. Something reminded me of my old LVC Aero Blue Black jacket that I had for a while that you got at some point as well and I was thinking of how that jacket has done more international travelling than me recently lol.
I thought you ended up with a Route 66 out of that? Did that not work out for you?

Great to hear from you! I still have the Route 66 but my brother is wearing it now while I wear the Aero NYPD jacket in honor of my grandfather.

 

[ton312]

Thanks, my friend! Much RESPECT to you on your diving efforts!! The fact you were able to give it your best effort, you succeeded no matter if you made it or not. I feel the same way about table tennis. My best game comes when I eliminate winning and losing from the equation. I've already won because I have the privilege of playing this sport for the love of the sport and representing the USA and representing Parkinson's warriors worldwide... those are my true gold medals which I've already won and eclipse any physical medal I might win.

Brilliant man! And exactly what I try to convey as a coach. It's a hard lesson to learn but so true that when you let go of the desire to be the best it's precisely what you become. Your greatest opponent is yourself. You should coach when your career is finished. I'll be watching for you man. Best of luck!