Momentous achievers from the mountains

Gaurav Kanthwal

Himachal Pradesh is not exactly known for its sporting achievements. The state, however, is better known for its mountainous beauty, rugged terrain and its industrious natives who possess an indomitable spirit to fight all sorts of odds. These are also the attributes necessary to excel in sports as well. So it was just a matter of time for the youth of state to set their sights on stardom through sports. In the past one year many youngsters from Himachal Pradesh have made it to the national and international sports scene in various disciplines.

Scores of youngsters have either made it or are on the threshold of making it to national teams in athletics, kabaddi, boxing, football and cricket. Some, like Aanchal Thakur, have won international acclaim. She is the first Indian to win a medal in skiing. 

This seems like the beginning of a new success story for the state’s youth, who are exploring new avenues to realise their potential. Rising aspirations, ever-increasing unemployment and shrinking resources are only pushing them harder.  According to annual labour surveys between 2012 and 2016, Himachal Pradesh witnessed the sharpest increase in unemployment rate which rose from 1.8 per cent in 2014-15 to 10.2 per cent in 2015-16 for persons 15 years and above. 

These grim factors have forced the youth to shed their conventional aspirations for a government job and look to other avenues. Teenagers from small towns of the hill state, which do not even have bare minimum sports infrastructure, have broken into the national scene due to their talent and sheer hard work. Their stories are quite inspiring as these youth only had a self-belief and an enduring passion with no precedence or, at times, hope in sight.

 A dream run 

Chamba girl Seema Kumari’s story is one such stirring tale fuelled only by her desire to achieve something big. It was failure which prompted her to excel. The teenager once finished fourth during a race in school. Rather than feeling discouraged, it spurred her into becoming national champion in the 3,000m race (U-18). Her village, Raitan, 26 km from the district headquarters, did have a primary school but had a small ground, which was not even big enough for a 400m track. This did not deter her. The youngest of the three siblings in a family with no steady income found her way to the nearest synthetic athletics track in Dharamshala, some 100 km away.

Ultimately, the gritty teenager overcame every possible barrier and trained there till she broke the national record last year. This year in January she reset it again. Seventeen-year-old Seema is determined to better it again this year. “My next competition is Federation Cup (Youth) in May and Youth Olympic Games in Buenos Aires (October 6-18),” says diminutive 5’ 1’ athlete. “Youth Olympics medal and then an Olympics medal is my only aim now.” 

Her coach Hans Raj, a physical training instructor (PTI) at Bhatka, says, “There are many more talented girls like Seema in Chamba district. Some of them can do even better but rural areas have their own handicaps. Illiteracy, lack of infrastructure and people’s narrow mindsets are enough to kill their own children’s dreams faster than they can dream.”

A goalpost for success

Fifteen-year-old Vishal Kaith from Shalawat village in Rohru was a good football player in school. People who would see him playing in local tournaments would appreciate his game  and often say, “Tu India khelega, bhai”. Kaith’s dream run started when he was selected for the sports hostel at Rohru. But soon the reality crashed in — there was only one coach at the sports hostel — that too a volleyball one. “A goalkeeper requires a specialist coach but our hostel had only a volleyball coach. He used to help me in my warm-ups. On most evenings I would end up playing volleyball as one player or the other would be absent and I was asked to fill in,” he remembers. 

His football coaches say Kaith’s biggest strength is his aggression and instinctive play. And that has got him into the list of probable players for the 2019 AFC Asian Cup qualifying match against Kyrgyz Republic. Kaith has already represented India at the U-16 and U-19 levels. The 21-year-old is also playing for Indian Super League franchise FC Pune City.

Not much to fall back on

Seema and Kaith’s achievements are commendable for these have come without any support from the state government or the athletics body. “If giving a cash prize of a few thousand rupees after achieving international recognition is encouragement, then yes, state governments do that once in a while. But basics like promoting sports or creating awareness about sports as a career option are missing. People in Himachal become aware about athletes from the state only after they achieve international success,” rues a senior coach of the sports department.

“Irony is that once a budding athlete shows some promise or wins a few medals, he is enrolled with Sports Authority of India (SAI) centres. The state government washes its hands away from any responsibility and then onwards the child is on his own,” he adds.

A grappling win

There are many youngsters in villages of Himachal who have talent but lack resources to make a go at it or earn living from it. But these seven youngsters have not only ensured a steady income out of their sporting talent, but have achieved stardom of sorts in their villages. Ajay Thakur, Shiv Om (Dabhota, Solan), Rohit Rana (Tiara, Kangra), Mahender Singh Thakur (Mandi), Vineet Sharma, Surender Singh, Vishal Bhardwaj (Una) scripted a zero-to-hero tale when they featured in last year’s Pro Kabaddi League. Thakur, though, is a veteran in Indian kabaddi with 14 years of successful career in the game. India won the 2016 Kabaddi World Cup due to his brilliant performance. He was the No. 1 raider of the tournament with the most raid points. He has been dubbed one of the best Indian raiders of all time. 

Following in the men’s footsteps is the girls’ kabaddi team which was crowned champions in the inaugural Khelo India School Games in February. They beat Delhi 25-19 to win the gold.

Golden fists

Sundernagar lads Virender Thakur and Ashish Chaudhary, both national campers, have been pursuing their passion for boxing since school days. Thakur, a two-time medallist at nationals, is now employed with the Indian Army. “For national and international medal winners in boxing and wrestling, the state government employs them in police department or other such services,” adds Virender.

Making a fair pitch

One of the biggest occurrences in Himachal sports has been the rise of women cricketers. After Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association (HPCA) set up India’s first residential cricket academy for girls in Dharamsala, it has been churning out top-notch women cricketers. Sunni girl Sushma Verma is now an established name in Indian women’s cricket team as a wicketkeeper-batswoman. Closely following her are Sundernagar girl Neena (25), a top-order batswoman and Shimla girl Tanuja Kanwar (21), a left-arm spinner, who made it to the India A squad for the home series against Bangladesh A last year. Tanuja is hopeful of making it by the national team by year-end.

Government initiative 

The Himachal Pradesh Government offers Rs 2 crore to its athletes for winning the gold medal in Olympics. The cash rewards have been categorised into Olympics, Asian Games, South-East Asian Games, National Games and junior championships. The government offers 3 per cent job reservation to sportspersons in various services.

The state government is mulling over starting a multi-purpose academy to provide coaching to its athletes. The plan is still in initial stages and suitable land is expected to be finalised soon.

According to HP Youth Services and Sports director Amarjeet Singh, "The state government offered Class-I job to cricketer Sushma Verma and kabaddi player Ajay Thakur recently. The government also announced Rs 5 lakh reward to skier Aanchal Thakur for winning the first international medal for India in skiing. Olympics silver medallist Vijay Kumar's case for re-employment is also being processed. Other international medallists will also be suitably rewarded, according to the criteria."