It was an intense game of Ultimate, till big fat drops of rain and a severe storm on the beach caught the players from Team India Mixed, unawares. It was the semi-final game against Japan. “Wind gusts of 49 kmph tore the event banners and created a tough situation for our team and we ended up making several unusual, unforced errors. More than Japan, it was our team beating ourselves,” says Suhani Bedi, captain of the team that won a bronze at the recently concluded World Flying Disc Federation Asia Oceanic Beach Ultimate Championships, where Philippines won the top spot, followed by the host nation, Japan.
The team from India won seven of the eight games they played. They managed a practise game at Shirahama (the venue for the event) playing a friendly match against another squad, a day ahead of their first game. This helped them acclimatise and understand the playing conditions.
There were anxious moments too, as a couple of the players fell sick on the way to Japan. “That did affect our performance on the field, but the team rallied together and encouraged each other,” says Praveen Kumar, co-captain. This is one of the best finishes for the team at an international competition. Their previous best was at the 2017 World Championships in France, where they finished fifth.
“The experience this time was bittersweet. While it was great to be on the podium and secure a medal for our country, we were disappointed that we did not win the title. This motivated the team to train harder for the next World Championships in 2021,” says Praveen.
“Though it was emotional, their reaction was a bit muted and professional; almost as if they are used to quality wins,” says Udaya Kumar, head coach, smilingly.
They then celebrated by singing ‘Chaley Chalo’ from the Hindi film Lagaan . After which, they plunged into the cool blue Pacific Ocean for a group swim.
