THIRUVANANTHAPURAM : Siblings S M Ashwin and S M Avanthika made the country proud by representing the Indian team in the South Asian Drop Roball Championship which was held in Nepal earlier this month. Though the duo won medals for the nation, their win didn’t find much traction owing to the lack of popularity for the game.
Ashwin, a student of Class X at MVHSS Arumanoor and Avanthika, a student of class IX at Government GHSS, Neyyattinkara bagged bronze and silver medals respectively in the championship which was conducted from October 9 and 12. A total of six students including Ansil Nisam, Gowrishankar, Gayathri and V G Sneha, from the state, represented Kerala in the Roball Indian team.
The siblings say they never expected to win the medals and are happy that finally their perseverance and self -confidence paid off. The siblings began their training only an year ago under the state coach and Drop Roball Kerala Federation State secretary P Premkumar. They had made an impressive mark at the national championship which was held at Chandigarh, this year.
“ My ambition is to become a Roball player in the future. I want to make my state and nation proud. So I will work hard to achieve my ambition,” Avanthika said. Ashwin also echoed her words. “We have the confidence to accomplish our dreams,” she said. Without any leisure time, they have already started vigorous training to participate in the upcoming championships. Meanwhile, they have also raised apprehensions about the lack of financial assistance from the state government.
“ We did not get any financial assistance from state sports council. It is the financial help extended by some people here took us to participate in the South Asian championship,” Ashwin added. According to Premkumar, the game was introduced in the state only five years ago and the state sports council is yet to recognise the game.
“ I have introduced the game in Kerala to promote it as a major game in the state. Not many people are participating in the game. The medal winners have a great future ahead,” he said.
The siblings father G M Sugunan is a KSRTC bus conductor at Neyyattinkara depot. Their mother S Maya is a staff of Horticorp at Petta.