WARANGAL: It's a dream of 19-year-old Madhavi Palnati to be an international kho-kho player. She had few opportunities, and yet managed to take part in national and zone level tournaments across the country, and was praised for her display of tactics in her game play. There were times when the dream grew more distant with poverty putting an iron foot in between. So when Madhavi, a resident of Kareembad in Warangal, received a call for selection to the Asian Games to be held in Indonesia next month, it seemed as if she was on her way at last.
She is confident of getting through and finding a place in the national team, but her parents are worried about the finances and how she will manage. Her father, P Sambamurthy is a blanket vendor and her mother is a housewife. Her two older sisters were married recently and her older brother Sairam is also a Kho Kho player. Madhavi is currently studying for a degree in the University Arts and Science College in Hanamkonda.
"My parents are afraid to send me to other states to participate in tournaments. But I always succeed in convincing them. They are happy when I come back with a medal," she said. Astonishingly if she is selected for the Asian Games she will still have to pay her own way. "I have to pay my own expenses like travel, sports kit, diet etc. If the government supports me, I am sure to make the country proud," she says.
Madhavi represented Telangana, South Zone, Kakatiya University at the national level and brought home several medals. Madhavi was the captain of the Kakatiya University team at the inter-university tournament held in Mysore this year. She attributes her success to the constant motivation of her coach B. Narayana, a government physical education teacher. The coach feels Madhavi has what it takes to be an international player but she requires financial assistance to ensure her talent does not go to waste.
