No Filter: Meet the Tamil Nadu girls who bend it like Beckham

The Tamil Nadu Women’s team won the National Football Championships for the very first time beating Manipur, and we all rejoiced. I was incredibly happy, especially being a sports presenter, that we finally have young women sporting icons from our very own state who can inspire young girls to follow suit. Until this moment, my only reference when it came to women playing football was the Gurinder Chadda film Bend it like Beckham. So, I decided to talk to some of the girls on this team to get to know the women and their stories. 

Nandhini M, the captain who led the side might just be the Captain Cool of Football, like Dhoni. “I have to make sure I don’t get worked up, while also helping my teammates stay composed and play without fear,” she says without missing a beat. She tells me she was always into athletics, and then in Class 9, her PT teacher Rajini, encouraged her to join football because she saw potential. 

“On my first day, I was intimidated by all the seniors but it only motivated me to want to be like them and get better. Later, when I attended a camp and saw all the players, I was super impressed. That’s when I knew I wanted to be a footballer. My parents always told me to focus on both sports and studies. My father and uncle are my biggest supporters and they encourage me a lot. It is a proud moment for me to have captained the first team from Tamil Nadu that won the nationals,” she says. She dreams of a future where women have more career opportunities in sports so these young girls have job security and more parents feel comfortable letting their girls be footballers. 

“I play for Sethu FC (TN team) in the Indian Women’s League and I’m hoping this league grows, is televised and we have international players joining us and we get a platform similar to ISL. My juniors in school and neighbours approach me and tell me they want to be like me. It makes my day and I’m hoping they have twice as many opportunities as we do right now. I would also like to thank the Federation, my coach and team mates without whom this dream of winning the cup for my state would not have become reality!’ she signs off. A common thread between Nandhini and star striker Indumathi is that PT teachers in their school, who went out of their way to guide these women, spotted their talent. I salute such teachers whose passion for the job changes the lives of such youngsters for the better! In Class 7, her teacher Sara introduced Indumathi, an aspiring athlete, to football and she took to the game like a fish to water. 

“When I first started playing, my parents weren’t all that excited and they had justifiable concerns as to whether this was a viable career choice. Slowly and steadily, I won them over with my achievements and now they are my biggest strength,” she says, and I can hear her smiling even over the phone. “It was the first time we were entering the finals of the National Championship and we were all nervous. But our coach and everyone told us how proud they were of how far we had come and told us to play our best and see what happens and it worked,” says the girl who scored 10 goals and is the tournament’s top scorer. When I ask her what her plans and dreams for the future are, pat comes the answer, “I want to play for an international club. I have made my state proud, now I want to make my country proud!” These girls are millennial icons for girls from all over Tamil Nadu and their story is truly inspirational. I’m hoping Kollywood is taking notice because this is a blockbuster story waiting to be recreated on screen!

There are certain moments in one’s life when you feel more like an adult and grown up. Losing a loved one is one of those. Last week, I lost my Seetharaman mama. Technically, he was a neighbour, but to me he was like a grandfather and I grew up in his house and called it my second home. Madiyathu mama as I fondly refer to him, and his family, were my first friends. They lit up my childhood and filled it with joy, love and learning. Sometimes, the relationships and the bonds that are a result of choice and love are stronger than those bound by shared DNA. We live in a day and age where most of us don’t know who our neighbours are. So, take the time to go meet your neighbours and get to know them. You never know, it might be the start of a lifelong relationship that you can cherish. We have moved away from that magical childhood home, that was incredibly tiny to a bigger and some might argue a nicer home, but I will forever miss having Seetharaman mama and family next door. They enriched my life in a way that words can’t do justice! I hope all of you have neighbours as great as mine and they become your extended family. If not, you will at least know their names and when you run out of coffee and need your morning caffeine fix, you will thank me! So, get of your couch and go say hello!