Sportive parents, triumphant daughters

Since the turn of the millennium, the Indian sports arena has seen a big surge in the number of female athletes shining on the world stage. And there is something about the two Telugu States, which have produced several women champions over the years. Notwithstanding a vibrant sports culture and robust infrastructure in the region, many of these girls would have given up on their sporting dreams if not for unwavering family support.

Behind every successful man, there is a woman, goes the popular adage. But take the context of sports in the two Telugu States, and you will find that behind every successful athlete, there is almost always a supportive father.

Athletes from Telangana and Andhra Pradesh have made significant contribution to Indian sports, especially in the past two decades, irrespective of discipline and economic status. It all began at the 2000 Sydney Olympics when Karnam Malleshwari became the first Indian woman to win an Olympics medal, a bronze. Coming from the relatively obscure township of Amadalavalasa in Andhra Pradesh’s Srikakulam district, the diminutive weightlifter showed what a woman can achieve despite all odds — she had trained at a makeshift ‘gym’ in a cowshed in her hometown!

For many other women athletes who have scaled the summit of stardom, success did not come overnight, be it Mithali Raj (cricket), Sania Mirza (tennis), Koneru Humpy and Dronavalli Harika (chess), Saina Nehwal, P.V. Sindhu and G. Jwala (badminton), Soundarya (hockey), Sowmya (football), S. Appoorwa (carrom), Nikhat Zareen (boxing) or Esha Singh (shooter). It took a great amount of sacrifices, uncountable hours of hard work and single-minded dedication to reach where they are. And it wouldn’t have been possible but for at least one family member who took the athlete’s commitment to a different level, even if it meant becoming the butt of jokes among family and friends.

No doubt, most of them were lucky to have their fathers double up as a mentor-cum-coach from an early age — Imran Mirza for Sania, Koneru Ashok for Humpy and P.V. Ramana for Sindhu. A few others had professional coaches to guide their destiny like R.S.R. Murthy for Mithali, S.M. Arif for Jwala, P. Gopichand for some shuttlers, N.VS. Rama Raju for Harika and a relatively unknown Shamsamuddin for Nikhat.

A big part of Sania’s successful tennis career is the unwavering support of her father, Imran. He used to drive his daughter around in their car to as many All India Tennis Association-ranking tournaments as possible for her to make it to the International Tennis Federation events. Today, she is considered the greatest woman tennis player in the country. With six Grand Slam titles and World No.1 title in women’s doubles to her credit, her feats are what many players can only dream of. She even put up a spectacular show in the Wimbledon last week, tipped to be her swansong. To say that Sania has inspired thousands of young girls to pick up the tennis racquet would be a gross understatement.

Then there is Harvir Singh Nehwal, who used to take his little daughter Saina on his two-wheeler from Mehdipatnam to Fateh Maidan Indoor Stadium early in the morning for badminton training under coaches like late Nani Prasad, Govardhan Reddy and Dronacharya S.M. Arif. Not many would have dared to predict the magic Saina would weave when she held the racquet for the first time.

Like Sania in tennis, Saina is a pioneer in women’s badminton in India, showcasing to the world what a young and determined girl could achieve, backed by unstinted support of her family members and coaches.