HYDERABAD: One is a daughter of a mason and other is daughter of a carpenter. Centre-forward Yendala Soundarya and goalkeeper Etimarpu Rajani script a fairytale story. Hailing from small towns of Nizamabad and Chittoor in Andhra Pradesh, Soundarya and Rajani fought against all odds to wear the Indian colours. After a fairly good show during the Junior Indian team tour to New Zealand, the two are in the Junior Women World Cup probables list. The World Cup is scheduled to be held in August at Boston in USA. Both are products of the Sports Authority of India (SAI) hostel here and learned the game from Gloria Jesudoss, the former National goalkeeper from Karnataka.
Taking up hockey at a young age, the lively Soundarya and the shy Rajani dream of playing for India in the World Cup. “I never imagined wearing the Indian colours or flying in a plane. It’s a dream come true,’’ said Rajani, who made her international debut during the New Zealand tour. But Soundarya has been playing for India since 2006 tour of Italy. “It was a pleasant surprise for my father and mother when they came to know that I will play for the country in 2006,’’ said a smiling Soundarya.
Soundarya’s father Sailu is a mason while her mother Chandrakala rolls out beedis as their livelihood at Nizamabad. “I never thought of being a hockey player. I was more interested in kho-kho as that is mostly played in small towns. But one day my Physical Education teacher suddenly asked me to play hockey. I obeyed his orders and today I don’t regret that decision,’’ said 21-year-old Soundarya, a busy center forward.
Soundarya had a liking to be center-forward the moment she held a hockey stick. “It is always thrilling to score a goal,’’ said the skinny Soundarya, who scored four goals in India’s campaign in Junior Asia Cup at Malaysia where the team won the bronze.
Coach Gloria said Soundarya is a natural striker of the ball. “She has the speed and good stick-work. She is an opportunistic goal scorer,’’ said Gloria.
Soundarya is aware that playing inter national hockey is tough.
“I would love to dodge but in modern hockey it is not possible. A player has to release the ball immediately to avoid the strong players,’’ said Soundarya, who adores players like Surinder Kaur and Mamata Karab for their stick-work and speedy runs.
Soundarya is happy that she has been absorbed in Central Railway in Mumbai. “It will help my family financially,’’ she said. Soundarya has a sister and a brother. The center forward also toured Japan and Australia. Rajani also comes from a small town. Her father Ramanchari is a carpenter.
She used to play volleyball before her ZP High School teacher forced her to play hockey as one of the players did not turn up for a inter-school match.
“It was strange I never touched a hockey stick before that and since I was a tall girl my coach asked me stand under the bar. Now, I’m here,’’ said Rajani. After three years coaching in Sports Authority of AP hostel in Tirupati, Rajani was enrolled in the SAI hostel here. After impressive shows in the junior nationals for the last three years, Rajani was selected for the New Zealand tour. “The weather was too cold there. It was a big learning experience for me,’’ said Rajani, who saved penalty corners but was beaten by the drag flicks. “It was something new to me. I have to work hard to stop the drag flicks,’’ said Rajani.