Bangalore girls make it to Children's Olympics

Bangalore, Aug 11: They are the Chak De girls in real life. For the first time in 46 years, India will be sending an all-girls under-15 football team to Children's Olympics, to be held in Canada.

A bunch of eight girls from Bangalore will represent the country at the 47th International Children's Games, which is endorsed by International Olympic Committee.

“We have been sending a boys team for the past four years. This is the first time we decided to send an all-girls soccer team. The exposure they will get now will go a long way in preparing them for future competition,” says Elvis Joseph, founder director, Bangalore Schools Sports Foundation.

It has not been long since the team started preparing for the competition. It has been two months since the preparations started. When asked if a two-month preparation is enough for a competition of this stature, Joseph laments the sad state of sports environment in the country.

“We could take out only two months. This itself was difficult as schools have their examinations and all. There is no formal time given to sports,” rues Joseph.

“No training is enough, but we have worked hard for this. Hopefully, we will be able to put up a good show in Canada,” says Keya Viswanathan, one of the participants.

Arjuna Awardee Reeth Abraham, pointed out how schools nowadays do not have a proper playground in place.

“The ideal situation would have been if we could start training the kids an early age. However, there is little time devoted to sports. Their schedule is usually packed with studies, hence there is no time left to play,” she says.

Poor response

Only seven schools in Bangalore came forward to nominate girls from their schools for the competition. “The response was poor. Out of so many schools in Bangalore, only seven came forward. This clearly shows that girls are not encouraged in sports,” says Joseph.

Priyanka Bakshi, one of the members of the girls soccer team says she has not seen many friends of her taking up sports. “Even before the practice started, I knew my teammates as there are only these many girls in Bangalore who take part in sports competition.”

Sponsor withdraws

The team is going to Canada minus their main sponsor. As a result, the team management has to borrow money from other sources to pay for tickets of the players.

“There has been no communication from this sponsor of ours. I have not been given the reasons behind withdrawal of support,' says Joseph.

Joseph says sponsors should come forward to promote sports rather than waiting for players to achieve something before agreeing to sponsor them.