search articles: 

   from the issue of September 13, 2007

     
 
  Table tennis provides family link for Airan

Following a father

 BY TROY FEDDERSON, UNIVERSITY COMMUNICATIONS

Setting down her custom table tennis paddle, Sylvana Airan slips back in time, into an afternoon of dress up.


STATE GAMES MEDALLIST - Sylvana Airan, assistant director of contracts and student services with University Housing, stands with the three gold...
 
STATE GAMES MEDALLIST - Sylvana Airan, assistant director of contracts and student services with University Housing, stands with the three gold medals she won at the 2007 Cornhusker State Games. Photo by Troy Fedderson/University Communications.

 
"It all began when I was 5 years old," said the assistant director of contracts and student services with University Housing. "We were living in Pakistan at the time, and my parents had me take part in a costume contest."

Her costume, that of a mogul king from Asia, drew the top prize. She went home with a table tennis net, paddles and a ball - however the family lacked a proper table.

"My father wasn't one to let something just sit around," Airan said. "So he went out, got a table and we started playing table tennis."

Airan watched her father play for hours, absorbing his style. Focus on defense. Keep the ball low with a chop shot. Let the opponent make a mistake first, then take the advantage.

Airan started playing table tennis competitions as a teen. Sometimes, her father would challenge her to a friendly game.

"We played against each other occasionally. I spent more time just watching him play," Airan said. "When I started winning, he wasn't as interested."
 
CHOP SHOT - Sylvana Airan shows where the ball strikes the paddle when a chop shot is used. Hitting the ball...
 CHOP SHOT - Sylvana Airan shows where the ball strikes the paddle when a chop shot is used. Hitting the ball with a downward slash creates an underspin, forcing the player to return the ball with a limited number of shots. If a player tries to return a chop with an aggressive attack, the ball often sails high, allowing for an easy kill. Photo by Troy Fedderson/University Communications.


Airan has continued to hone her skills through the years - playing in Husker Hall as a student here at UNL and competing for the last 20 years in the Cornhusker State Games (where she has earned 57 medals, three gold just this summer). Still, her self described, "boring style," mirrors that of her father, Fred Airan - who worked at UNL for a number of years after the family emigrated to the United States.

Airan's father was even known to frustrate fellow UNL employees, playing table tennis matches while on break.

Fred Airan died in 2006. This was the first year he did not watch Sylvana compete in the State Games. However, Airan said her mother and sisters (including Sandy Airan, an administrative coordinator in Admissions) did attend.

"It had been a few years since we had gone out to watch Sylvana play," said Sandy Airan. "I think for all of us, it was a way to support Sylvana. But it was also was a way for us to reconnect to something that was such a big part of our father.

"I know he was proud that Sylvana was continuing something he did."


GO TO: ISSUE OF SEPTEMBER 13

NEWS HEADLINES FOR SEPTEMBER 13

Choir Revival
Antelope Valley's 'Big T' to transition into 'Big X'
Freshman enrollment largest in 24 years
UNL Czech language program celebrates 100 year milestone
Following a father
Free Campus Rec membership offered for October
Group offers interactions for women from around the world

732932S37254X