Gurugram kids bat for baseball in hope of a home run

Children from neighbouring colonies ace this all-American game on the grounds of a government school in Gurugram.

The batting cage pulsates with energy as 100-odd kids, padded and gloved, swing home runs, zip from base to base and lunge for catches with extra-large gloves doubling their reach, all to deafening screams of ‘second to first, second to first’; excited parents cheer on from the stands. This is not a scene from a Hollywood movie, but one that is being played out on the grounds of a government school in Gurugram, with children from neighbouring colonies acing this all-American game.

Students of Model Sanskriti school hold the distinction of constituting more than 50% of Haryana baseball team; nine of them are national players. (Mithilesh Kumar/HT Photos)

“I had no idea about baseball, I had just seen it in Doremon (animated children’s show) and thought it was something like cricket,” said 16-year-old Mohit Rawat, among the many students of Model Sanskriti Senior Secondary Government School, Sushant Lok, who were introduced to baseball just two years back. He is now a national-level baseball player.

Model Sanskriti Senior Secondary Government School is home to country’s second regulation-sized baseball ground—the first being in American Embassy, Delhi—and the children of this school hold the distinction of constituting more than 50% of Haryana’s state baseball team; nine of them are national-level baseball players. State- and district-level baseball matches held here have become a part of the school’s annual calendar.

In the last two years, over 800 kids in the city have been actively learning and playing baseball. Of these, around 500 are from government schools and had never heard of this sport.

START OF THE BEGINNING

Baseball was introduced to the students of Model Sanskriti by their physical education head Sandeep Kumar, who is also the member of state directorate of education. Soon, a private baseball training organization agreed to come on board to train these kids.

Prospective players were picked after a rigorous selection process, and training for the 500 selected kids began on the two-acre school ground, which was, at that time, strewn with bricks, stones, scrap metal and wild grass.

Ignorance often leads to resistance towards most things new, and so was the children’s response to this cricket-resembling, American sport. Their first reaction was one of resistance and indifference. These marathon-running, taekwondo practicing, gully-cricket stars were not excited about playing a group sport entrenched in rules, especially one that required rigorous practice. But, the school authorities remained resilient as they knew baseball was the right sport to channelize their energy.

“I was looking for a sport for these children that could tap their innate agility and didn’t require an expensive strength-building diet. Most of them come from low- to middle-income backgrounds and cannot afford expensive diets. Besides, they needed a sport that gives them exposure and prospective careers,” Kumar said.

While the school offered its playground, private organisation Grand Slam Baseball (GSB) came on board with equipment, gear and skilled coaches. The coaches monitored each child’s development in detail and educated them about the sport’s global exposure. Soon, students started showing commitment and making greater effort towards the sport. Their resistance was replaced by genuine interest and passion for the sport.

“At first, I didn’t like the game. It felt weird; it looked like cricket, but the rules were completely different. I could not understand the sport. But, two months down the line I started loving it. Now, I come for practice regularly—two hours in the morning and two in the evening,” said 13-year-old Rahul Kumar.

Their commitment caught the attention of international leagues, such as the Pittsburg Pirates and the Major League Baseball (MLB), who have also come in the past year with their own baseball coaches, scouts and trainers for mentorship programmes.

Sakshi Chavadiya, a 12th grade student from Model Sanskriti school is a national-level baseball player, said, “Going to Telangana for the national baseball matches earlier this year and meeting players from other parts of the country was an eye-opener. I had no idea that baseball has such a presence in our country. It can open up an international career for me.”

India has had a national baseball team since the 1980s, but the sport could not grow in prominence. The national team only won one international tournament and that too in 2015. Till 2017, the only professional baseball ground in the country was within the American Embassy in Delhi. Lack of regulation-sized grounds has ensured there is relatively lesser competition and opportunities better.

City students who excel at the sport have the provision to receive scholarships from the state government of Haryana to study in colleges in Delhi University and other universities.

PROMISE OF THE GOLDEN KEY

A vague similarity with cricket and innate athletic prowess helped these kids pick up baseball easily once they warmed up to it. Now that they are acquainted with the game, they are also more confident of the avenues the game can open for them. From watching MLB matches on their phones to Million Dollar Arm—a movie about Indian pitchers Rinku Singh and Dinesh Patel who became global baseball sensations—these children are not just practicing the game, but nurturing a desire to be selected in international leagues, make their parents and teachers proud and be like the power runners and hitters they see and admire.

“I want to play for the MLB, that is my ultimate dream,” said an enthusiastic Mohit. On the other hand, 14-year-old Gita Yadav, who is easily one of the most energetic runners on the field and an international-level Taekwondo player, has a more rational approach. “Baseball can give me wings. I am an athlete and unlike other games, where there is excessive competition, if we excel at this sport, we can make our careers here and also get international exposure,” she said.

JUST FOR FUN

While some children are driven by the hope of a brighter future and better life, others play just for the love of baseball. “Before Sandeep Sir came here, there was hardly any sports activity in the school. Now, we practise daily for two hours in the morning, then go to school ,and then after school too, practice for two hours. It rejuvenates us and makes us happy,” said Sakshi.

Like her, Mohit, who earlier took pride in calling himself a ‘super’ gully cricket player, now spends most of his day hours on the baseball field. While the girls stay more focused on acing the game, the boys said that for them baseball was as much about camaraderie on the field as off it.

“Baseball is a game that is all about team work. You can do nothing in isolation. Four people are needed even to score a single run,” said 16-year-old Sumit Singh, who loves hanging with his baseball buddies.

BLURRING BOUNDARIES

Being the only regulation-size baseball ground in the city, it is not just the government school kids who practice here, but also students from private schools. With an under-14, under-17 and under-19 baseball team for boys and girls, Model Sanskriti school has become a flag- bearer of sorts. Many private schools in the city are following suit and building their own baseball teams for boys and girls.

Aryan Verma, a class 10 student from Suncity School, is one such teenager. A national level player, Aryan said, “No matter how much you practice, in baseball it’s never enough. The whole game is very intense and requires complete team effort and co-ordination.”

This has also led to an interesting coming together of students from different socio-economic backgrounds and the weaving of a strange, but endearing friendship that crosses class and caste barriers.

Sandeep Kumar, who oversees the training every day, said, “There is a definite blurring of boundaries. The government school students can learn about sense of purpose and discipline from the private school kids. The latter imbibe the unadulterated drive and love for the sport and commitment towards it from the government school kids.”

CHANNELING ENERGY

Watching children practice at the Sushant Lok ground, parents of both government- and private-school kids cheer them on together from the same stands. It is evident that a game from a foreign land has strengthened the city’s social fabric.

What it has also done is brought peace to the campus of Model Sanskriti school, where shattered windows, broken cisterns and broken class furniture, would cost the school authorities thousands of rupees they could ill afford.

Asha Miglani, principal of Model Sanskriti Senior Secondary Government School, said, “There were many mischief-makers in the school. We would often face disciplinary issues among kids, broken glass panes and menace in the classroom. But after they have started playing baseball, these issues have gone down remarkably. The children’s energies are being tapped productively. Ironically, most of those excelling at the sport are also doing very well academically.”

Parents and teachers are pleased with the way the sport and sportsmen are shaping up on the school grounds. But there’s another man who is equally happy. He is Raunaq Sahni, a former baseball player and founder of GSB, who hopes that he would realize his childhood dream of playing in an international baseball league through these kids.

“As a kid, when I played baseball in the American embassy it was alongside American kids. The few Indian children who played there came from government schools. I see in them the same dedication, excellence and hunger that I did in those kids there. I believe they will have great future in baseball,” said the 28-year-old Delhi resident.

As the sun sets on the batting cages and the daily practice ends, teams of children walk in file to hang their bats and gloves and get ready to go home, full of hope and happiness. In a cricket obsessed country, these shadows in the sunset could usher in the dawn of a new sport.