Telangana's sub-junior boys and girls throwball teams along with the state's senior women's team are on their way to Rohtak, Haryana to compete in the Nationals and it's proving to be one fun ride. Especially when it comes after a five-day (October 21 to 25) camp at G Narayanamma Institute of Technology and Science which was as tough as it gets. After all, the state teams were prepping to face off in the nationals, no ordinary feat.
We caught up with three players from the senior women's throwball team, including the captain, who were game for travelling especially after a particularly confining pandemic.
Acing academics and throwball
We have it on good authority that Oduru Shanitha is as sincere a student as they come. First bencher and extremely helpful, she developed an interest in throwball back when she was studying in Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya at her hometown Naidupeta in Nellore district of Andhra Pradesh. Like many others, this BTech Electronics and Communications Engineering student turned up at G Narayanamma Institute of Technology and Science on October 2, 2021 for selection to the team and was one of the 14 members (playing seven, substitutes and extras) to be selected. "During the pandemic, I have been playing throwball with my cousins and brother mostly back in my hometown and that has helped me stay in sync with the sport," says the student of BVRIT Hyderabad College of Engineering for Women (BVRITH) who came to the capital of Telangana in 2019 to pursue her higher education.
Shanitha's college has already toughened her up for all the challenges. The 19-year-old tells us that for every loss they suffered in a college game, they were made to take ten to 20 rounds of the grounds. That's where she gets her 'go big or go home' attitude. But there is more to Shanitha than throwball. She was part of a team that was the first runners-up at Innovesta 2021 conducted by NIT Jalandar. Their idea is to work on leaf disease prediction and pesticide prediction.
The captain speaks
As far as the team captain, 21-year-old Konkala Vinisha is concerned, she is a sportsperson through and through. Confident because of the training imparted, this youngster pursuing her BTech in Computer Science Engineering from G Narayanamma Institute of Technology and Science, has played hockey and kho-kho at the district level and is now passionate about throwball as well. "I was a bit nervous when I was made the captain because managing players is a big responsibility. But now, it is coming more naturally," says the Hyderabadi player. She ardently hopes that they are able to enter the finals.
Play sports, people
For Jadapalli Yashswini, throwball has proved to be a passion of sorts that is helping her keep stress at bay. But for now, the 19-year-old is taking the time that this journey has bestowed upon her for recuperating from the camp and packing in as much sleep as she can. But that doesn't mean her head is not in the game. She is actually filled with a lot of motivation. "The recently concluded Olympics has helped lend a lot of support to sports. It means a lot when you represent your district, state or your country at different levels. More youngsters should definitely come forward and play a sport," says the BTech student who is pursuing Electronics and Communications Engineering from G Narayanamma Institute of Technology and Science.
