Apart from its arresting natural beauty, the aromatic coffee estates and the delicious pandi (pork) curry, Coorg is also famous for its insatiable love for the national sport — hockey.
The game runs so deep in almost every Kodava’s blood that there has hardly been an instance where a national side has not had a player from the community. From legends BP Govinda, MP Ganesh and MM Sommaiah to current national team vice-captain VR Raghunath, Coorg has always taken immense pride it wielding the stick.
Last Sunday (August 4), however it was not the men but a shy 20-year-old girl who made Coorg proud by creating history. Mallamada Narendra Ponnamma played a key role as the Indian team clinched a bronze medal at the FIH Women’s Junior World Cup in Moenchengladbach, Germany — their best-ever finish in the quadrennial bash that has taken everyone by surprise.
“I’m really happy and thrilled with the bronze medal,” a delighted Ponnamma told Deccan Herald from her home in Ponampet. “It’s been a long time since the women’s team has tasted any sort of success at the international level and this is the tonic that we so desperately needed.
“After we finished last in the (FIH) World League Semifinals (Round 3) (in Rotterdam, the Netherlands), we were very determined to do well in the World Cup. Nobody gave us any chance and I guess that worked in our favour. The expectations were very low and we just wanted to play positive hockey.
“Around eight of us were from the senior side and we knew this was our last shot at the junior level. We had experience on our side as we’ve been playing together for a while now. The overall team spirit was great and it all came together really well,” added Ponnamma as accolades kept pouring in from several quarters since her arrival back home.
As a sport-loving kid, Ponnamma played many games during her childhood before settling into hockey, thanks to her father Mallamada Bopaiah Narendra who represented the Madras Engineers Group as a defender. Learning a few tricks from her dad, she kept honing her skills at her school, securing her first break in 2005 when she was picked up by Sports Authority of India (SAI) hostel in Madikeri.
The call-up changed her life completely as she started devoting more time to hockey, making an instant impression with the coaches there. She then started performing well in district-level tournaments and also the at National championships.
A hard-tackling defender who is sparingly used as a midfielder, Ponnamma realised her cherished dream of wearing the national colours when she was picked for the four-nation tournament in Argentina in December 2011 where India won the bronze.
Although she missed the cut for the all-important FIH Olympic Qualifiers in February last year where India finished runners-up to favourites South Africa, Ponnamma has played in four other international tournaments with the Moenchengladbach World Cup being her maiden appearance at the junior level.
Having improved upon her Hindi-speaking abilities that have helped her communicate better with team-mates, Ponnamma felt the graduation to the senior national side at an early age and Neil Hawgood’s arrival as coach has played a key role in her transformation.
“The gulf in the quality of hockey from State-level to national-level is huge. It’s fare more so at the international level. (Neil) Hawgood has helped us a lot. He has changed the formations, strategies and I feel we have made some improvements technically. There has been huge emphasis on fitness as well. My goal right now is to keep working hard and secure a permanent spot in the national team,” said Ponnamma.
While becoming a permanent member may be the long-term goal, the immediate task ahead of Ponnamma is to do well in the national camp set to kick off in Patiala on August 14. During the near month-long camp, the team for the eighth Asia Cup in Kuala Lumpur will be chosen which India need to win to seal their spot for the 2014 World Cup in The Hague, Netherlands.
“Yes, that’s (making it to the Asia Cup squad) my first target now. The competition is stiff as we have about 5-6 slots for defenders in the team. However, this bronze medal has given me a lot of confidence and I hope to build on it. Fingers crossed!” added Ponnamma.
source: http://www.deccanherald.com / Deccan Herald / Home> Supplements> Sportscene / by
Sidney Kiran / DHNS – August 11th, 2013
