It’s a regular group photo; the women are in their black Tamil Nadu jerseys. Only, basketball player Hemavathy Arun Kumar smiles at the camera, holding her toddler. “I take my family everywhere I play,” says Hema. She is part of the Tamil Nadu women’s basketball team that won at the National Masters Games 2019 in the age category of 35 and above.
The women competed against teams from Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and Chhattisgarh, to emerge winners at the tournament that was held in Dehradun from February 20 to March 2. This is the second time the team is winning at the Masters; they won last year in Chandigarh too.
Back home, they’ve returned to their busy lives in which they juggle multiple roles. Vijayapriya Rajagopalan, for instance, is the vice president of a company based in Mumbai. Also a mother, she says that prior to the tournament, the team practised from 5.30 am to 7.30 am every day, from early February. “We were back home to get the kids ready for school and go to work ourselves,” she says. Vijayapriya makes it sound so easy. However, it’s far from it; given that sportswomen, especially those in their age group, hardly get any sponsorship.
“We’re asked questions like ‘Why is it necessary for you to play?’ ‘You should be taking care of your family’,” says Chennai-based Sheeba Pramola M, who works with the Southern Railways. “All 12 of us have supportive spouses who make it possible for us to play despite our responsibilities,” she adds. There are times when she has had to “give excuses” to people just to be able to play. But she brushes them aside, saying, “I divide my time at work, create a support system for my children… if you’re really passionate about something, you will make it happen.”
The team practised on the grounds of Ethiraj College and ICF, which Vijayapriya is grateful for. “We hardly have any facilities; no dedicated grounds to play at,” she says. Most of the women in the team have been playing from their school days, continuing to play through college too. “Some of us got Government jobs through the sports quota, and continue to play,” says Vijayapriya. But some, like her, took a break. “I didn’t play from 2001 to 2015,” she says. Which made getting her stamina back, challenging. “We had a fitness coach who helped,” she adds.
Eight players from the current team represented India at the Asia Pacific Masters Games in Malaysia in September 2018. “Three of them brought their families along since they didn’t have anyone else to look after them in their absence,” explains Vijayapriya. Hema’s son, for instance, was among the audience when she played at the Asia Pacific. “He was one-and-a-half then and I was still nursing him,” she says. “I breastfed him right before and after the match,” she recalls.
Hema is in the construction business with her husband Arun Kumar. “He keeps asking if he’s forever our children’s baby-sitter,” she laughs, and adds on a serious note, “He’s accompanied me on most of my matches, looking after our two children,” she says. For one particular match she played for the ICF club in 2012 though, he couldn’t make it on time. “I was sitting with my three-year-old on the bench, waiting for him. He was driving through Chennai’s crazy traffic and was 10 minutes late.”
It was a difficult 10 minutes for Hema, one in which she couldn’t play as part of the main five. But she took a practical decision then. “I took a break and continued once my children were a little older,” she says. Among the most difficult things to deal with, as a mother and a basketball player, is to choose which role to give precedence to, on certain occasions. “When I’m playing, if my baby cries among the audience, I can instantly hear it,” says Hema. She pauses, just for a second, but gets back into the game.
