KOCHI: Fraught with the wrecking thought of her father’s harrowing fight against acute kidney dysfunction, 17-year-old Vandana, in order to keep the troubling images at bay, locks her palm in arm-wrestling match.“I sit down for a game to win, and the victories are healing,” she said. But when the euphoria wears down, the images return.Fighting extreme odds, this class 12 student from Meenangadi in Wayanad proved twice that she is unbeatable in girls’ arm-wrestling. Yet, she is not sure for how long she can continue playing her favourite sport.
For a second time on the trot, Vandana Shaji became the champion of champions - by beating the victors of all categories - in this year’s National Arm-wrestling Championship in the junior girls’ division last week. By far, she is the only girl from Kerala to have achieved this feat.In the same national event, Vandana won gold in the junior girls’ 80+ kg category and silver in the senior girls’ section. With this performance, Vandhana has earned tickets to Japan for the Asian championship from June 24 to 29 and to Lithuania for the world clash from Sept 14 to 21. But she is unlikely to make the flights for lack of money to buy tickets.She belongs to a family of arm-wrestlers. Her father, Shaji Rappai, is a two-time national champion and a kidney patient. Though he had never been defeated on the table, he decided to quit the field after he could not muster ` 55,000 to go to Johannesburg to attend the World championship in 1992.
Then he focused on his two daughters’ careers, with an unsteady job as a hotel employee. His wife too is unwell and cannot work.
His eldest daughter, Varsha Shaji, is also an arm-wrestler. She is the gold medalist in senior girls’ 50-55kg category in 2014 nationals and has also qualified for this year’s Asian and world events. But there is little left in the family for Varsha and Vandhana to realise their dreams after Rappai’s and his cancer-inflicted mother’s treatments.
Since arm-wrestling is not an affiliated discipline of the Kerala Sports Council, Rappai cannot expect much help from the government.“We cannot sponsor the trips unless the Sports Ministry intervenes or the Kerala Arm-wrestling Association gets an affiliation from the Sports Council,” council secretary Binu George Varghese said.
KAWA general secretary Jojy Eloor said the entries for the Asian Arm-wrestling Championship have already been closed but Vandana still has time for the World Championship. “We have got an appointment with sports minister Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan on Wednesday to discuss her case,” he said.“If she attends the World Championship, a medal is sure. I actually want to send both my daughters abroad, but do not have the means to do it. A help from the government is my only hope,” Rappai said.If any of our readers wish to help these young girls realise their dream, contact Rappai at: +91-8606726726. On his request, Shaji Rappai’s account details are also included: Account number - 0827101035502, Canara Bank, Meenangadi branch.