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Netting the big prize
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The game has been around for a while but is now poised for a big push in the country
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PHOTO: MURALI KUMAR K.
MUCH-NEEDED EXPERTISE The Indian Federation has roped in the services of Sri Lankan coach Champa Wanamali Gunawardene to put the young squad through its paces
Netball, an offshoot of basketball and largely viewed as a women's game, has certainly picked up momentum in the country. Though the game was introduced to India in 1910 and was included in the physical education syllabus at YMCA, Madras, by Henry Buck in 1920, it took another 58 years for it to formally establish itself with a national body to govern its affairs.
The Netball Federation of India, formed in 1978, has since been striving to promote the sport and the game was thrown open to men 10 years ago. Among the Indian States, though Delhi ruled the roost a few years ago, teams such as Karnataka and, of late, Chattisgarh, have been making steady progress.
The game is now poised for a big push with the Karnataka State Amateur Netball Association (KSANA) set to organise the fifth Asian Youth (under-21) championship for women at Sree Kanteerava Stadium in the city from July 24. For KSANA, it is the first international event, though it has conducted several Indo-Sri Lankan exhibition ties in the past.
Necessary impetus
"We feel that this event will give the necessary impetus to the game in the State and in the country, considering the fact that India will host the Commonwealth Games in 2010. The girls who play here, are likely to be core group for the games," said B. Mohan Kumar, secretary of KSANA and the organising secretary of the Asian Youth Championship.
The Indian Federation has roped in the services of a Sri Lankan coach, Champa Wanamali Gunawardene, who has been in Bangalore since July 5 and has been putting the young squad through its paces. The coach is pleased with the way the team has shaped up during the fortnight stint of training. "The girls are talented and are very fit. They are good shooters and I have worked on their speed and playing skills," said the coach.
She felt her home country Sri Lanka and Malaysia are the main contenders for the championship. "In Asia, they are the top two teams. In the last championship at Colombo (2004), Malaysia won the title and we finished second. But I am giving the Indian girls a fair chance and am very keen that they beat Sri Lanka. I know the way the Lankan team plays and I am getting the Indian squad to counter it very effectively," said the coach.
Sri Lanka, despite its size, has been a leading netball nation. "The game is widely popular and we have tournaments at all levels. There is huge player base with lakhs of kids playing the game," said the coach.
Champa, who has picked up a smattering of Hindi, loved her stint here. "Though I have been here for a little while, I know each and every girl and her capability," she said.
P.S. Sharma, The Netball Federation of India Secretary, felt that getting the Sri Lankan coach was worth the effort. "She has been very diligent and has done a good job," said Dr. Sharma.
What remains to be seen is how the team responds to the challenge during next week's championship. The Federation is looking beyond the Asian Youth Championship and has set its sights squarely on the 2010 Commonwealth Games. Netball will be a major event in the Games and will feature the world's major teams including the champions Australia, New Zealand, England, and Trinidad and Tobago. Australia is the top gun in the game having won eight of the ten World Championships. "Obviously the standard in the Games will be very high and we are already preparing for the event," said Dr. Sharma. "We want to pick up 40 to 60 girls from all over the country and base them in Delhi and train for the Games while making suitable arrangements for their academics as well," he added. He wishes to follow the example of Malaysia in this respect. "Malaysia has done that in past with very successful results and I am sure it will work out well for us too."
According to Dr. Sharma, Spring World, an NGO that has been working on AIDS and HIV awareness, plans to tie up with Standard Chartered Bank and set up a base in India to promote netball. The Federation also plans to get an Australian coach at a later date, to train the team.
"There is enough talent and we have a good crop of youngsters, like Neha Bajaj, a six-footer, in the team. The onus is on us to train such youngsters to international standards," said Dr. Sharma, who was also the former secretary of the Asian Federation.
Netball should get a berth in Olympics after the Beijing Games in 2008, he felt. "The game has IOC recognition and it is only a matter of time before it makes it to the Olympics. We are also lobbying hard to find a place in the Asian Games at Doha in December,'' he revealed.
The tag that it is basically a women's game has been affecting the image of the sport and even in Australia, netball struggles to get TV coverage. Netball Australia has now launched a mass signature campaign to get the game its rightful share of TV airtime.
"It has always been hard for us to get some publicity for the game, but I hope things change after we are through with the Asian Youth Championship here," said a hopeful Mohan Kumar.
KALYAN ASHOK
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