Games people play

A bunch of youngsters are busy playing handball,albeit not the way we know it. There are no goalposts to begin with,instead two frames have been placed on either side of a 40 x 20m ground. The teams — each consisting of seven players — are trying to score points by hitting the frame,making sure the ball bounces back enough to land outside the 10m radius semi-circle,without the rebound being stopped by the defenders.

What sport is this,one asks. “Tchoukball,” replies Upender Kumar,watching the game from the sidelines and shouting instructions to the players. “Not ‘chokeball’,” he corrects,“t-c-h-o-u-k-b-a-l-l. It’s an international sport,” he boasts.

Google substantiates his claim. Tchoukball was started by a Swiss biologist in 1970,who believed the objective of the sport was not to make champions (India seems to have taken that philosophy to heart: it is ranked last among the 20 countries that play the game). The game that originated in Geneva has found its home in Muzaffarnagar,with the national federation also based in this town.

Tchoukball is not an isolated case of a sport trying to gain a foothold in the country,from small town to metropolises. Gohana in Haryana,with a population of less than 50,000,is the centre for two games: indoor cricket and bobsleigh (a winter sport,bang in the heart of a semi-arid region). Dhanbad is the hub of croquet,while American football is run from Navi Mumbai.

Then,there are also indigenous peripheral sports,aiming to spread their wings abroad. Tennikoit and the ancient sport of tug-of-war have gone global. There are those that are recent entrants,such as roll ball (handball on roller skates),which was invented in India in 2003 and now has a score of member countries.

From fringe to mainstream

The perception about these fringe sports being the pass-time of bored school kids during summer vacation changes when it comes to light that most of them have a national federation — in many cases,more than one,with rival factions claiming legitimacy. It doesn’t stop there,with many of them getting grants from the sports ministry as well (see box).

The rise of netball,which is one of the disciplines in the Delhi Commonwealth Games,serves as a good case study. While the federation has been in operation since 1978,it’s only after the sport was included in the Kuala Lumpur Commonwealth Games in 1998 that it rose to relative prominence. The federation got recognition from the government in 1993 and received the first grant in 1996. It was around that time the sport got involved in its first legal dispute.

Now there are two groups,one supporting PS Sharma,a founding member of the Netball Federation of India,and the other led by Gurbir Singh,who became the federation’s president in 1995.

“Money and pushing players in the national squad is the root cause of factionalism,” says Sharma. “If there’s no money,none of the federations will face legal wrangles.”

It’s no secret that running sports in India is a business. And if the discipline is recognised by the government,it’s a booming business.

According to sports ministry data,the government has given Rs 41 lakh in three years for netball coaching programmes alone. In 2008,the government sanctioned grants for squads going abroad to participate in international competitions.

A lot to play for

In games that haven’t quite arrived,there’s plenty at stake and hence the tug of war. In the eponymous sport there are again two federations. Tug-of-war has got Rs 39 lakh from the government over a period of four years. Other sports,tennikoit (Rs 47 lakh),softball (Rs 33 lakh),soft tennis (Rs 17 lakh) and malkhamb (Rs 12 lakh),too,have received grants.

So stiff is the competition that in some cases — mostly in the sports originating abroad — the federation predates the game. In the case of American football,the federation came up in 2006 and by 2007,a national championships was organised.

The modus operandi for such wannabe federations is a template. “Identify a sport,contact the world body,get a provisional membership,arrange athletes and conduct a national championship,” reveals a tchoukball official.

“The general secretaries are the ones who pull the strings. But you need to have a president who is either a politician or a bureaucrat,so that he can use his contacts to get recognition. If nothing else,then,at least sponsors for national meets etc,” he says.

Even for an extremely obscure sport like tchoukball,the effort could be worth it,right from the start. “We charge from the players,say,Rs 100 for registering for a national event. If 350 players participate,you have Rs 35,000 to begin with. Then you can sell certificates as well. Depending upon the contacts,you can also get local sponsorships. You can always make big donors as chief guests,” he elaborates. “At the end of one national meet,a federation can be richer by anything from Rs 50,000 to Rs 1,50,000. If you don’t want to spend it on the game,it’s a nice little side business.”

Living on hope

Little wonder then that politics follows. Even an aspiring game like tchoukball has two presidents and as many general secretaries claiming legitimacy.

The obvious question that crops up is: what’s in it for the athletes? Hope,says Kumar,who switched over from handball after playing at the inter-university level. “I represented India at the international level when Pakistan came here for a three-match series in 2008,” he informs. “The certificates haven’t been of any help as of now. But we’ve applied for recognition. Hopefully,in a year or two,it would be considered for employment in Railways etc.”

Kumar is not eyeing that for himself,though. He doesn’t play the game anymore. At 26,he is a now a referee. “I have given five years of my life to tchoukball,and am looking for a future in it as an international-level referee. Or coach. I am keeping my fingers crossed.”

Ground rules

Softball: Started in the US,a variant of baseball. A softball is larger than a baseball,though it isn’t any softer. The pitch is thrown underarm. A sport recognised by the sports ministry and the IOA,softball has received Rs 33 lakh from the government in four years.

Tennikoit: Started in India in the ‘60s,it now has made its presence in 20 countries. Played with rubber rings on a badminton-sized court. The ring has to be thrown at the opponent and a point is awarded if he/she fails to catch it. Each individual tries to score 21 points in order to be declared a winner. A recognised sport,tennikoit has got Rs 47 lakh from the government for coaching camps since 2006-07.

Tug-of-war: Pits two teams of eight against each other,holding on to a rope,and trying to pull the other side over the centre line. It’s also recognised by the government,which has granted Rs 39 lakh to the national federation during the last four years.

Soft tennis: Started in Japan,it is a variant of tennis,but played by a softer,rubber ball instead of the regular tennis ball. A recognised sport,soft tennis has got Rs 17 lakh over a period of two years.

Tchoukball: A variant of handball,with frames instead of goal posts. The aim of the teams is to bounce the ball off the frame so that it lands outside the circle. Not yet a recognised sport.