How Indumathi Kathiresan became GOAT of Tamil Nadu women's football

CHENNAI: Like most fathers in Indian households, Kathiresan mostly communicated with his children through his wife. Few days ago, after Indumathi (30), his daughter, received the All India Football Federation (AIFF) award, he called her directly over the phone.

Pictures of Indumathi sharing the dais and rubbing shoulders with Minister for Sports Udhayanidhi Stalin, at an event honouring sportspersons were shared by everyone in the family WhatsApp groups. Friends and co-workers were heaping praise on his daughter. It dawned upon Kathiresan that his daughter had achieved something big. Again.

“Enna ma, Edho periya virudhu vaangirkiyame?” (Dear one, it seems you have achieved a prestigious award). “It was slightly embarrassing because I knew his friends were around when he made that call. He was proud and he was also showing off to friends,” laughed Indumathi, Indian mid-fielder.

Kathiresan works as a load man at the Cuddalore vegetable market to this day. Indumathi, the second of his three children, was the first to secure a stable job after she joined TN police as a Sub Inspector in 2016. She has been asking him to hang up his boots and live with her in Chennai for eight years. No, he tells her every time. The detailed lame excuses were unsurprisingly conveyed through his wife.

There is another man Indumathi refers to as her father. S Mariappan, now a flailing 72-year-old, was Indumathi’s football coach through her childhood until she completed M Com.

Indumathi owes him everything, and hence, makes it a point to speak to him over the phone on most evenings. She takes his advice on literally everything in life. “Everything I know about football is from him. Nothing outside. The hard work during our formative years has kept me in good stead till now,” she said.

Beginning from Class 7

Indumathi’s ‘fathers’ first met at the District Stadium, Cuddalore, in 2005. When she was in Class 7, Indumathi expressed interest to join a group of girls who trained regularly under Mariappan.

“I used to practice running at the stadium, as I was interested in athletics then. One of my teachers took me to Mariappan sir, who was our school’s physical education director and suggested I join the other girls,” Indumathi recalled.

Mariappan too had noted the lanky girl with long strides practicing sprints alone at the stadium and did not mind another pair of athletic legs to his arsenal. But, unlike the other girls training under him, in Indumathi’s case, he needed her parents’ permission.

Indumathi told her obviously-reluctant parents, but Indumathi’s persistence prevailed and Kathiresan went to discuss things with Mariappan. And their discussion went something like this:

“Sir, I am a daily wager. I cannot afford to spend on football boots and kits”

“Who asked you to?”

“Okay, please take care of my daughter then. She is your responsibility.”

Promises were made and kept. Football helped Indumathi get free college education, brought her laurels and even helped her get a government job, which changed her family’s life.

But neither Mariappan nor Indumathi expected that the discipline, training and her talent would earn her national recognition. It was only a by-product, not what they had aimed for.

Life comes in waves

“At first, I enjoyed being part of the football team because it helped me cut classes in school,” chuckles Indumathi, who did not expect that within a year, she would be playing the senior nationals, representing Puducherry.

It was a logistical decision made by Coach Mariappan to send his girls to Puducherry for the selection trials, which is less than an hour’s drive from Cuddalore than to send them for trials for the Tamil Nadu team, which would be held either in Chennai or Tiruchy or Madurai.

Mariappan, a goalkeeper who represented his University teams as a younger sportsperson, has been coaching football for boys since 1986. In 2003, he started training some girls from the Anna Sathya Government Children home, housing orphans or children of single parents, when they expressed interest to learn football. He reluctantly agreed.

He did not know then that within a year, all their lives would turn upside down, and Mariappan would have to undertake a life’s mission.

“The 2004 tsunami was a turning point,” Mariappan tells DT Next. It was a custom for Mariappan’s wards to have weekend training at the beach.

On December 26, 2004, (Sunday) by 5 am, Mariappan and the girls had gathered at the beach for practice. In 30 minutes, Mariappan received a phone call from his school, asking him to report there to finish the required paperwork to fill in as a chief examiner, as the teacher originally assigned for the task had an emergency.

“I did not want to leave the girls alone at the beach without supervision. So, I had dropped them all off at the district stadium and gone to school,” he recalled.

Around 7.30 am, Mariappan received a frantic phone call from his wife, Ashalatha, a nurse. “Where are you? It seems the sea water has crossed shores and entered homes. Please come home soon.” But Mariappan dismissed her concerns, and said: “Is that so? Then, you guys keep on swimming.”

Taking on additional responsibility of the girls, apart from coaching the boys, had taken a toll on Mariappan’s marriage. He was rarely home, which was a contentious issue between the couple. When he received the call from his wife, he assumed she had made it up to ensure he comes home, as she had been mad at him for staying out even on Sundays.

But, soon the word spread. Mobile phone communications were disrupted and Mariappan rushed to the district stadium. The girls were not there. On his way, he saw people and cattle lying on roads, and large fishing boats stuck on the first floor balcony of government buildings. Somehow, the girls had made it back to their hostel adjacent to the school.

Mariappan’s school was one of the camps to house the affected. “Pits were dug up adjacent to our school compound walls. Truckloads of dead bodies were simply dumped into them,” Mariappan shuddered.

Cuddalore was among the worst affected coastal towns in TN during the 2004 tsunami, with over 700 recorded fatalities.

Success after tragedy

Months went by in recuperating from the natural disaster. Those who survived felt lucky to be alive. However, there was a change in the girls under Mariappan’s tutelage. “I heard from the other teachers that the girls are being slack and getting punished. I spoke to them. Soon, I learnt that since the Tsunami, they had no visitors. Relatives had either died or lost properties in the Tsunami and moved out of town. Students knew that they were disadvantaged from the beginning. But, they were kids too, and the only social connection they had had stopped abruptly and they did not know how to cope,” said Mariappan.

The coach-cum-physical education teacher wanted to make them smile again. “That was my only intention then. I believed that sports and education would help them,” he added.

Thus began a journey that would change lives, but with many disruptors along the way.

It was this group of 27 girls that Indumathi joined in 2005. The number of players eventually increased to 47. When Mariappan got promoted as a Head Master and took charge at a different government school in Cuddalore, he got permission from the District Collector and moved all of them to his school.

With the girl’s achievements within the age-group football, he managed to secure free college education for all of them at the St Joseph’s Arts and Science College in Cuddalore, where they won several South Zone and All India University Championships.

“We were all a team from school until college. At school, we could not win any championships. The first year at college was a disaster too for our team. We did not get selected for the All India University championships, and we were miserable. We got free seats in college, and felt that we were letting them down and not repaying their faith,” Indumathi recalled of that time.

But, from their second year, there was no looking back. After his retirement from government service, the college appointed him as physical education director. For the next six years, Thiruvalluvar University was in consecutive finals of South Zone and All India University championships. They won each trophy three times.

“To this day, the first All India University championship trophy that we won in 2013 is the closest to my heart,” Mariappan stated. It took about a decade to vindicate the blind faith he had after taking an emotionally-inspired decision in the aftermath of the 2004-Tsunami. And now, he had something to show.

Lonely journey

By 2014, Indumathi was drafted for the Indian camp and toured Pakistan. Benched for the first game, she got opportunities in the next two games as injury replacement, where she proved her mettle to the team management.

For around five years, Indumathi was the lone TN representative in the Indian team and did regular tours. “I studied in Tamil medium. Once I started college, I had to manage academics along with learning English, and my practice sessions on the field every day. On top of that, I had to learn Hindi too. To say it was daunting is an understatement,” she said.

For Indumathi, the award close to her heart was the Best Player award she received when Tamil Nadu won the first Senior Nationals title in 2018, beating the national powerhouse, Manipur.

“AIFF award was unexpected. I got a call from the authorities to attend the event in New Delhi. Travel and accommodation were both taken care of. Only after reaching Delhi did I learn of the AIFF award. It was a surprise for me too, because though I’ve been performing well since school, I hardly got any recognition. So, getting back to the grind irrespective of the results is my motto,” she said.

‘Absolute superstar’

For followers of women’s football, the AIFF award to Indumathi was a no-brainer. In the last 18 months, she has won the senior national championship representing Tamil Nadu and two Indian Women’s League titles, representing Kerala’s Gokulam FC and Odisha FC, for which Indumathi was the captain.

“Indumathi is a workhorse. When she is on the pitch, her confidence is infectious and inspires other players too, irrespective of the team she plays — India or Tamil Nadu or the professional clubs,” averred Jenisha Rani, a HR professional, an ardent football fan. “If she is in the team, other players’ performances would also get elevated.”

A statement condoned by the Indian forward and Indumathi’s long-time teammate, Sandhya Ranganathan, who was rooting for Indumathi to win the AIFF award. “Indumathi akka (emojis),” she commented on the Indian football’s Instagram page, when they posed a teaser to their 3.8 million followers on who will be crowned ‘Best Woman player’. “She had a phenomenal season. I had no doubt she would win the award, especially after the way she rallied the State team together to win the senior nationals last year. As a senior player, her leadership skills were remarkable,” she smiled.

Tamil Nadu faced Haryana in the finals which was held at the Guru Nanak stadium in Amritsar. “The game plan for Haryana is quite simple. Just mark and keep Indumathi Kathiresan out of play. An absolute superstar. She basically won the semi-finals for Tamil Nadu on her own. She played on a whole different level than the 21 others on the pitch,” the commentator hyped up Indumathi.

After a goalless first half, both teams scored within the first 11 minutes of the second half. At the 83rd minute, seven minutes before full-time, Tamil Nadu was given a penalty. “If I was there, I would have felt extreme pressure. A lot of our lives depended on winning the championship. Indumathi took the shot and it was a goal,” she reminisced.

Tamil Nadu won the senior nationals for the second time after 2018. Indumathi was part of both sides. In the 2018 edition, Indumathi was both the player of the final and player of the tournament.

While winning national championships is undoubtedly important, professional leagues like the IWL is considered a career-maker for young women footballers, pointed out Indumathi. “In my younger days, I played for the fun of it. I used to think, ‘football aadrom, idhula enna vara podhu?’ (What will come out of playing football?). Now, with professional clubs, I can see how it’s useful to enable and hone ambition. Plus, you don’t have to secure a job to support both your game and family. You can play and take care of your family. How good is that!” she exclaimed.

Early this year, Indumathi capped off her brilliant season by leading Odisha FC to their maiden Indian Women’s League title. “Did you see that photo?” Mariappan beams with pride referring to the picture of Indumathi holding the IWL title like a mace. “A well-wisher sent that picture to me on WhatsApp.”

At his home in Cuddalore, he has bundles of newspaper cuttings of every achievement of his team and physical albums filled with photographs. He showed DT Next the faded and yellowed photos at the exclusive training ground for his club — Indira Gandhi Academy for Sports and Education (IGASE).

Good, Bad and Ugly

The IGASE’s compound wall bears paintings of the successful alumni, Indumathi, and others, who share wall space with football legends, Maradonna and Messi.

As the training session ends, a young boy walks up to Mariappan and stretches his hand with a packet full of Re-1 toffees and a Rs-10 chocolate bar. It was his birthday. Mariappan wishes him well and takes the toffee.

The boy does not utter a word and stares at Mariappan and then at the chocolate bar. Mariappan succumbs to pressure and takes it. The boy walks away.

Indumathi and others call Mariappan every day and check on his health and issue kind threats to their ‘Appa’ to take his medicines. The septuagenarian concedes that old age has mellowed him down and the present batch of children he trains, with the help some of his alumni like former India player, Sumithra, have not been at the receiving end of his sharp tongue or the military-like drills he adopted for the Tsunami batch.

“I would shout at them when they got the drills wrong but I wasn’t abusive. All the kids were very sincere. I could not help them with adequate dietary requirements. That remains my only regret till date, but they practiced for four hours every day without fail while balancing their studies,” said a proud Mariappan.

It takes a village to raise a child and there were several helping hands along the journey — friends and local businessmen, Manivannan and JA Patel.

“I invested my pension money in the academy. Till today, only the three of us have been making it work – all for the sake of the kids,” Mariappan said. “Srinivasan of Muniyandi Vilas, Cuddalore, supplied two eggs for each of my children for a decade. Another businessman, Ravikumar, took care of the flight tickets when he learnt the girls had to travel by train for an IWL match.”

In 2020, IAS officer Raja Gopal Sunkara (now Erode District Collector) reached out to Mariappan after reading about him. Sunkara, additional collector (development) at Cuddalore, wanted to know if the district administration could help in some way so that Mariappan could create the next batch of national footballers.

“Sir, I am old, I am thinking of retirement,” said Mariappan, to which the officer replied: “No retirement for you, sir. Just tell me what could we do for you.”

It was Sumithra who asked if the government could help build a separate training facility for their club, and the civil servant helped in allotting land. But it would be another two years before the facility was inaugurated. “I got transferred eventually, but I was happy to learn that the project got completed. My hope is that more young players get inspired by the achievements of this little football club and bring glory to the nation,” Raja Gopala Sunkara told DT Next.

The two-year delay in bringing the training facility was due to the opposition from the villagers, who did not like the idea of the government giving away a plot of land at cheap rates. “People from all caste associations took turns and opposed the facility. There is some discontent even now. But, for the last two years, things have been smooth,” averred Mariappan.

Hurdles are not new to this man on a mission, for he faced the ugly wrath of the society in his earlier journey. The Tsunami batch, whom he had adopted, could stay in the Government Children’s home once they finish school. So, Mariappan decided to house them all in his home.

“Ever since I started training boys, some of them would stay in my home. So, my family members were not strangers to players staying for several days at my home. But, girls are different. As they grew up, there were many unsigned letters to my home, my school and the district collector’s office, casting aspersions,” Mariappan recalled. “Kochapaduthitaanga (They slandered).”

Women in the family did not want the notoriety, though unfounded, and suggested that Mariappan stop coaching the girls. “I was too invested in the girls’ well-being by then and stayed out of my home for a week after a fight with the family.” His wife and sister eventually pacified him and brought him back home. “With time, my wife warmed up to what I was doing and she started supporting me and the girls too.”

The couple have two sons and an army of daughters now.

Promises to keep

The first person Indumathi called after getting the AIFF award was her husband, Mohanraj, a bank staff. While many of her teammates gave up football after marriage, Indumathi continued with her husband’s support.

“I got married in 2022. In hindsight, I feel every recognition I got in football was after my marriage,” said Indumathi.

She thinks about taking a break to start a family and then make a comeback. “I feel that I can inspire more youngsters if I manage to pull it off,” said Indumathi.

She has travelled the world and is exposed to different cultures, but for Indumathi, it has always been about gratitude. “In my interactions with players from across the country and in foreign nations, the message I received was that self-growth and individuality was the most important. I am not saying they are wrong. But, I feel responsible for my family,” she said, pointing out that her parents did not stop her from pursuing football, despite opposition from relatives.

Her mother, Amutha who lives with her in Chennai, still gives a breakdown of the expenses she made from the money Indumathi gives her. Indumathi feels awkward whenever she does that. Her father expects nothing from her salary and still checks on Indumathi through his wife. Her siblings take her advice on every life decision.

“It was as if I became the unofficial head of the family once I got the police job,” said Indumathi.

Her elder sister got married early and Indumathi too thought she would face the same fate. Football gave her college education, a job, international exposure and now a national recognition. All of it would not have been possible if not for a humble government teacher, who did not say ‘No’ when girls innocently asked him if they could join football practice.

As for Mariappan, he is a content man now. Nine of the 47 girls from the Tsunami batch are Sub Inspectors in the TN police department, and some are constables. Most of them are settled in life and he cannot be happier. “My girls put Cuddalore on the Indian football map. I have given assurance to Sunkara (IAS officer) that I would definitely create another Indumathi and Sumithra,” he smiled.

Mariappan’s struggle to support several underprivileged children continues. Grassroots football is his focus, and he doesn’t hesitate to appeal to everyone to support his team — not with money, but with football supplies.

Indumathi's path to glory

Tamil nadu Chief Minister's Trophy winner (Five consecutive years: 2012-2016)

All India Inter University Championship- Winners (2013, 2015, 2017), Runners (2014, 2016,2018)

South Zone Inter University - Winners (2013, 2015, 2016), Runners (2014, 2017, 2018)

South Asian Football Federation (SAFF) Women's championship - Gold (2014, 2017, 2018)

Senior National Women's Football tournament- Winner (2018, 2023)

Kerala Women's state league winner: 2022

Indian Women's League: Winner: 2018-19 (Sethu FC), 2022-23 (Gokulam Kerala FC), 2023-24 (Odisha FC)

Individual accolades

Indumathi is the first footballer from Tamil Nadu (male or female) to be awarded the Best Footballer of the year award by AIFF

Player of the final and player of the tournament in the 2017-18 Senior national football championship. Tamil Nadu created history by winning the national title for the first time

Player of the tournament - IWL-2023

Best midfielder of IWL 2024

Highlights

As a Sub-Inspector with Greater Chennai Police, Indumathi was a front-line worker during the Covid-19 pandemic. A photograph of Indumathi in action, in her Khaki uniform went viral.