The Hindu : Sport / Football : Australian football to be introduced in India

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Monday, May 05, 2008
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Australian football to be introduced in India

Special Correspondent

CHENNAI: A mix of athletics, basketball, volleyball and football — Australian football — is a sport that has a touch of gridiron American football and produces a lot of physical tackles but is not violent. A sport that is vibrant and exciting but is not truly football.

It is for the physically fit, for those who can use their hands and legs in equal measure, and run 13 to 14km in an hour’s play time! The Australians are passionate about it, so much so that one in every 39 Australians has a club subscription and is a club loyalist.

Having originated 150 years ago, Australian football has grown and has swept across the country. Top Australian cricketers have links with the sport. Shane Warne would have been an ardent Australian football player but for his decision to stick to cricket. Ricky Ponting till the age of 17 was a serious Australian football player but took the “important decision” as Dale Holmes, the General Manager of AFL put it, to cross over to cricket. Ponting now is AFL’s ambassador in India.

With the huge Indian population in Australia, the move to introduce the sport here makes a lot of sense.

“The sport provides one more opportunity to strengthen ties with Australia as cricket has been doing,” said Aminur Rahman, Australian Consul-General.

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