Meet the champs

The latest session by Young Ficci Ladies Organisation took a dive into sports. The members this time round got together to address an issue that most of young mothers from the lot faced — how can their children be the next Jwala Gutta or Mithali Raj without compromising on their studies?

“The sports-centric theme for the session is one that most of the members found solidarity with,” explains Samia Alam Khan, chairperson of YFLO, Hyderabad. “For example, it’s a crucial year for my children — my son, Aftab, is in Class X, whereas, my daughter, Sanya, in Class XII. My son loves cricket, he goes for training every day, but since he has his exams this year, I have often stopped him from playing. I do feel guilty.”

It was this guilt that gave them  the thought of bringing badminton players Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa, footballer Sunil Chhetri and cricketer Mithali Raj for a session on sports, titled “India’s potential as a sporting nation” to figure out what these sporting giants did so different that made them what they are now.  

How the stars tackled exams

“I was in Class X and I had only attended 10 classes, so I was so scared the day I was supposed to get my report card because I thought I would fail,” reminisces Jwala Gutta. “I got 47 per cent and my dad’s reaction... ‘It’s okay. You were practicing all the time’. My parents never put any pressure on me. But they did want me to complete my education,” says Jwala.

Sunil Chettri too owes his success to his parents.

He grew up in an Army family, where his father and mother used to play football. “Other kids used to study and I used to play. They would often tell my Mum, ‘Are you mad? Why are you letting him play?’ But the truth is, there is enough time in one day to obey parents, study and play. Ashwini Ponnappa started training when she was just eight, her father used to play hockey and mum is a mountaineer. But she went international only in 2009 when she was paired opposite Jwala Gutta and she says starting earlyhelped her gain the experience.

Mithali Raj, on the other hand, confessed she was lazy and unlike most of her family not an early riser.

“But when my parents pushed me to take up cricket, I completely trusted their judgement and went ahead with it,” she says.