Remember Shah Rukh Khan starrer Chak De! India , which was a tribute to the grit of women hockey players in the country? Well, in 2014, Karnataka had its own real-life Chak De! story. The stars were eight boys and eight girls. The sport was ball badminton.
In the third week of December, 16 ball badminton players, who were to represent Karnataka at the 60th National School Games Federation of India in the Under-17 category, stopped practising. Citing a funds crunch, the Department of Public Instruction (DPI) refused to send them to the tournament at Salem in Tamil Nadu.
But on December 30, these boys and girls were standing proud at Salem, bringing laurels to Karnataka. After defeating teams from many States, both teams bagged the runners-up trophy.
The teams, which included players from rural areas, were formed in October. They had practised for nearly six hours daily before the DPI denied them permission. However, the coaches and some activists personally met Commissioner for Public Instruction Mohammad Mohsin, and just two days before the tournament, he granted them permission to take part in the games. Ball badminton had been included in the national games for the first time. Monica K.M. (15), a class 10 student from Koladevi village, Mulbagal taluk of Kolar district, said her parents were very sceptical about sending her for the nationals. “My parents were very worried and refused permission. But, all I could dream of was ball badminton. I begged and pleaded with them, and they let me go,” she said.
Chandra Kumar, coach of the boys’ team, said he was very proud of his boys, as three of them played the finals even though they had fever. “Our students were determined to win and came home with the trophy.”
