CHENNAI: Two girls growing up together in an orphanage fall in love with the beautiful game. They play for the same school and state before wearing India colours together.
Sounds like a movie? Wait till you meet Sumitra Kamaraj and Sandhiya Ranganathan. Sumitra, 24, and Sandhiya, 21, both lost their fathers at an early age.
Their mothers, both daily-wage labourers in Cuddalore, entrusted the two of them to an orphanage where they could stay and study. It was here that their football journey began.
It culminated when they played for India at South Asian Games in Kathmandu a couple of weeks ago, where they won gold.
Sandhiya, the forward, scored two goals, while Sumitra, the midfielder, assisted in a few.
Girls, especially from rural areas, often face stiff opposition from the family when taking to football, but it’s one hurdle that neither of them had to cross.
“For us, our mothers could only visit us one day every month at the orphanage,” says Sumitra. Her mother did have her apprehensions but Sumitra managed to charm her over when in eighth standard, she was selected for the India U-14 team. She regaled the older woman with stories of train trips and lands unseen. Sumitra’s mother has only seen her play once, at an event in Cuddalore. “She was seeing football for the first time,” Sumitra laughs.
“Upon seeing how physical a game it was, she feared that she would have to watch me get injured and left after 20 minutes.”