Rising after the knockdowns

Gargee Walekar is the only Maharashtra representative in the Indian team for Rugby Sevens U-18 Girls event at the Paris World Games this weekend. She was part of the inaugural Asian Under –18 Girls Rugby Sevens Championship in UAE last year.

Known for her speed and agility, Gargee is not the only one from the suburban area of Mulund to make it big. Her ex-schoolmate Ruchi Shetty represented the senior Indian team in the Asian Women Sevens Championship 2016 held in Sri Lanka.

Mulund girls Gargee and Ruchi along with their ex-schoolmates Kshitija Manglurkar, Krutuja Manglurkar and Shraddha Lawand were also in India Under –18 Girls Rugby Sevens squad last year in Dubai. The former students of St. Mary’s Convent High School, Mulund, still play at the school ground or a nearby ground in Nahur along with other girls and boys.

“We still train either at St. Mary’s ground or in Nahur. We play in touch tournaments also. It is fun to play over the weekends with others,” Gargee said.

The 17-year-old lanky rugby player loved to tackle right from the first day she got into the game. “I was introduced to the sport in Class XI by Rohit D’Souza’s Get into Rugby program in our school. It was a new game, and everything was different about it. I loved to tackle. Initially, people around didn’t support us as they didn’t know much about it. But now everybody around feels proud of us. I am a First Year student in BA at Ruparel College. The love for the game has stayed with me since and I have played many junior and senior national level tournaments,” she said.

None from her family played rugby, but she didn’t face any hurdles despite being in a tough contact sport. “My father played club level cricket, and my grandfather was an athlete. My parents have been supportive all through, but they want me to do well academically, too. At the moment it is getting difficult to balance both,” she added.

Gargee and her ex-schoolmates play for the Mumbai Strikers club. She was chosen in the 12-member squad after a fortnight-long training camp at Bombay Gymkhana. Rugby India Coaches Nasser Hussain and Rehmuddin Shaikh conducted this training for 25 probable candidates. The girls were selected for the camp during the Societe Generale Junior National Rugby Championship held on June 10 & 11 at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in New Delhi. Both Hussain and Shaikh are from Mumbai and have travelled with the team. Hussain is also a former Indian Rugby Team skipper and current General Manager of Rugby India.

The Indian U-18 Girls squad has five players from Odisha including captain Sumitra Nayak and five players from West Bengal. All these ten players are from tribal areas. Sultana from New Delhi completes the 12-member squad.

Gargee had a good outing in her first international tournament in Dubai last year, but her team missed out on the final berth. She wants to make amends this time. “It was a good match for me, and I played as a forward. I got injured in the semi-final, and many other players got injuries too. We also couldn’t reach final. This time we want to reach the finals and win it,” she said.

Gargee feels rugby as a sport is improving in India and they are capable of competing in international tournaments. “Foreign players are physically stronger built, and we lack there, but otherwise, we are equal to them. Personally, I also want to become physically strong. I have speed, I can tackle well and run fast, but my frame is thin, which I want to change,” she said.