BENGALURU : In January this year, the Indian women’s throwball team came back from Thailand with a bright gold medal. And leading the team is Bengaluru girl Krupa G P, who has been the team captain since 2016. The team, which is led by her, is now on its way to Malaysia for its next bilateral tournament in July this year. Working as a business analyst at an MNC, 32-year-old Krupa has been managing her time to ensure the team brings another gold for the country.
Coming from a small town called Giriyapura near Kadur in Chikkamagaluru, Krupa studied in a Kannada-medium government school. Post her SSLC, she decided to complete her B.Com in Bengaluru. “I had a tough time since I did not know English.
The first two years was a nightmare with no friends. One day, my mathematics teacher picked on me saying I was destroying the reputation of the college by not speaking English. That was a turning point for me as I decided to prove my worth. I scored 96/100 in Math and since I was good in athletics, I got introduced to throwball by a senior,” recalled Krupa, who became the college team captain in her final year.
While in most cases, sports usually has its time frame where sportspeople end up leaving behind their passion and pursuing a more stable career, Krupa decided to do the same. “I joined an MNC since my family had financial difficulties. During a corporate event, I had played throwball and coincidentally, a few members from the Bangalore District Association for Throwball were present. I went through a selection process and got into the National team in 2008,” she said. Since then, the city girl has never looked back and is now heading a team of 10 players.
“Right now, the only challenge is getting support from the government. Throwball still has a long way to go but we request sponsors to come forward and help bring this game to a higher platform,” she said, adding that they do not receive the kind of support compared to other well-known sports.