Odds don't favour, but rugby women are here against all odds

The odds of India winning a single game against the likes of Hong Kong, Japan and Singapore when the rugby sevens competition kicks off on Sunday are akin to Botswana defeating India at cricket. 

This is not a subjective assessment of their chances. This is what Ludwiche Van Deventer, the head coach of the women’s team at the Asian Games, admitted before boarding the flight to Hangzhou. 

The point, however, isn’t about the result, not when it comes to a sport so niche and only just waking up to possibilities. This is about catalysing a movement which could well inspire the next generation to go beyond. 

The women’s team had once before qualified for the Asian Games (in 2010 in Guangzhou), and finished seventh out of seven teams, but one would have expected their very appearance to inspire more takers, at least in a professional capacity. That didn’t happen. 

The impossible-to-avoid patriarchy, lack of government recognition and non-existent infrastructure forced many a woman to give up the sport after making impressive strides at the junior level. 

In fact, there is plenty of evidence to suggest that Indian girls can match up to, if not always defeat, rugby superpowers at the age-group level. Those numbers spiral incongruously as they start heading towards adulthood. 

It’s a classic case of culture dictating what women must do. The same ails rugby. Worse so because the optics of the ‘aggressive’ sport make it harder for women from India to convince their families to accept and allow. 

Against the background of what can best be described as taboo, twelve women, including skipper Sheetal Sharma, will look to re-narrate what Indian women are capable of. 

It won’t be easy and it might not end up looking good on the final scoreline, but it won’t matter to the seventh-ranked team in Asia. 

They have already won by making it this far and in putting out their stories. Each of them has battled poverty, overcome blatant ostracisation, gracefully handled ungraceful denigration, and is now in a position to inspire and evoke purpose among young girls and women alike. 

ITINERARY

Group F (all games to be played at Hangzhou Normal University Cangqian Athletics Field)

Sept 24: v Hong Kong (China), 10 am IST. 

Sept 24: v Japan, 3:35 pm IST.

Sept 25: v Singapore, 8:20 am IST.