10 out of 12 Andhra kabaddi girls are ‘proud daughters’ of farm labourers

Ten youngsters out of 12 in Andhra Pradesh’s kabaddi girls team are from a small hamlet of Kapusambham near Vizianagaram. Even more amazingly, they are all children of farm labourers.

The excited girls have arrived in Panchkula for the Khelo India Youth Games not only to battle it out for a medal but also to become future sporting icons.
Vandana Suryakala turns feisty when people ask her about her parents’ background.

“So what?” she retorts. “Each one has a profession and my parents are labourers by profession. And I am very proud of them.”

Suryakala made her debut at the Games on Friday and has already underlined her prowess. The young raider scored 14 whopping points in their Group match at the Tau Devi Lal Stadium to help beat Chhattisgarh 40-28.

“I started off as a runner because I used to sprint to the fields when I was a child. But when I turned 7, I switched to kabaddi after seeing all my friends play it,” she smiles. “I quickly got a hang of it and there has been no turning back.”

Another debutante, Munakala Devika, a student of GNR Junior College, talks along similar lines:

“We are proud of our parents and it is because of them that we are here. They have encouraged us to play the game, giving us all the support that I need.”

As and when the cheerful girls are not competing or at camps, they are more than happy to help out their parents in the fields. They are waiting for the day when they can buy fields for their own parents.