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Indian women’s rugby team captain Vahbiz Bharucha optimistic of the sport’s future
Last month, right in the middle of the pandemic, Pune was at the peak of a devastating debacle due to Covid-19
Last month, right in the middle of the pandemic, Pune was at the peak of a devastating debacle due to Covid-19. Regardless of the situation, city-based physiotherapist Vahbiz Bharucha, who is the captain of the Indian women’s rugby team, had to mark her presence in Jammu and Kashmir (J&K). On April 10, a squad of 12 women from the national rugby team, along with 12 other local Kashmiri women players, had come together to accomplish a collective goal at Srinagar’s sprawling TRC turf ground.
“For the past few months, the Indian Rugby Football Union (IRFU), aka Rugby India (the nodal body for rugby in India) has been holding multiple discussions with the union sports minister Kiren Rijiju, primarily seeking support to scale up the sport’s position nationally but due to poor representation of the game in mainstream media, Rijiju wasn’t too confident about where the team stood in terms of its performance and merit. He wanted to check whether the players were really promising enough. So, he asked us to show up at Srinagar and play an exhibition match, which would help him make a judgment,” informs Bharucha, when asked about the reason for the team’s J&K expedition.
She adds that on behalf of IRFU, the team also made a couple of presentations, and she feels, from the looks of it, Rijiju seemed impressed.
“He shared some encouraging updates about the exhibition matches on his social media platforms. This has sent out an optimistic message for us. However, we haven’t yet heard from the ministry in an official capacity,” she said.
The women from the team are scattered across different pockets of India, from Delhi to Siliguri, Bhubaneshwar, Kolkata, and Patna, and so on. Back from Srinagar, and Vahbiz, just like the other teammates, has been busy prepping for the nationals.
“I try to clock in about two-and-a-half hours of fitness training daily. Rugby demands a lot of speed, stamina, focus, and strength—everything packed into one individual. I focus on running and bodyweight workouts—there’s a lot of endurance, power, agility and speed that I am focusing on,” she marks, adding that the team has a set of coaches in South Africa and Mumbai, and they regularly determine fitness targets and exercise regimens for the girls. The anticipated timeline for the nationals would’ve been somewhere between the end of May to June but there’s no confirmation on that front so far,” she said.
Sounding slightly apprehensive, Bharucha said, “We are not sure if the nationals are going to happen, given the Covid-19 havoc in the country. Also, if the matches happen, the funds required would go up significantly as all the safety guidelines, and quarantine rules would have to be adhered to. Let’s see what happens.”
For the team, the immediate plan of action may not be too clear but what remains undeterred despite all the odds is the team’s preparedness to hit the ground running. As the captain of the team, Bharucha believes in leading by example.
“Thanks to social media, the team is connected. I make sure I regularly post videos and pictures of my workouts, training, and diet. Of course, if need be, I also lend a listening ear to any teammate, who wishes to talk to me about any challenges in achieving the fitness goals,” she said.
Bharucha is certain that good times are in store for the game in the coming future, given the rising numbers of women players.
“Serious participation and awareness about the sport are going up steadily over the years. Also, the state of Odisha recently struck a partnership with IRFU, with a view to develop rugby as a professional sport in India. This is so reassuring,” she smiled.
