Kerala Women's team wins Spirit Championship on Ultimate frisbee tournament debut
This was the first time a Kerala women's team participated in a tournament. 'It is new for Kerala, with most of them having never played a women's tournament at a competitive level while many players from other states have participated in women's tournaments at least at club level,' says Smithi Manickam, head coach. She has represented the country internationally and is also the head coach of the Indian Masters Women's Beach Team, preparing for the World Beach Ultimate Championships in November.
The non-contact and self-refereed sport is played on grass or sand. Each team has seven players on grass and five on sand. For a mixed-gendered game, a ratio of 4:3 and 3:2, both favouring men, is applied to grass and sand, respectively. The teams pass the frisbee from one end of the field to the other by tossing it, and players must catch it at the other end to get points. The players themselves are held accountable for sticking to the rules.
An inclusive space
The game has gained traction in the state over the past few years. The Kerala women's squad, led by captains Ahila SA and Dan Maria Danty, consists of research assistants, architects, lawyers, filmmakers and so on. Eva Antony, another spirit captain of the team, is a project associate at a private company.
Many women have come forward to find the field to be an inclusive space. 'I started playing Ultimate two years ago in Kochi on a turf when a friend asked me to join her,' says Dan, who runs a branding business. She adds, 'I participated in basketball tournaments in school and college. But, for women, after a certain age, you can't play or have teams and tournaments. It was that background that gave me the courage to go ahead and try another sport.'
Niveditha S Nambiar, 20, says, 'I studied in a school where boys and girls were not allowed to play together. This meant that girls would technically have no space to play. While boys played football in the parking lot/playground, girls played snakes and ladders or carroms. The sports day was the one day we would have something for ourselves.'
Niveditha from Thiruvananthapuram discovered the sport during the pandemic when she realised that she had gained some extra weight. An acquaintance mentioned Trivandrum Ultimate, founded by Benoy Stephen to her. She joined the group and attended tournaments with them but had to leave for Hyderabad for college. She started playing there too.
Theertha, a 33-year-old associate director in the Malayalam film industry, remembers the exact day she played frisbee for the first time, when her friend texted her on Instagram in September 2024. 'I went to play, and I haven't experienced anything like that until then. I had never played a sport before that, and I didn't know what it meant to be a part of a team,' says Theertha, who has worked on movies such as Helen, Anandam, Victoria and so on.
Girl power
The players point out that the women's category gives them more opportunity to upskill. 'When you play a mixed tournament, what often happens is that you are not pushed to your limits. For instance, I might be able to do a long throw, but since it is a competition, my teammates come close. They don't do it intentionally. But with women, everyone is pushed equally to try new things,' says Niveditha.
'It makes a big difference in terms of visibility, too. Sometimes, even when you do everything right on the field, you are not seen by your teammates. All that changes when you have female teammates. Having a female coach makes a huge difference too,' she adds.
Eva says, 'Moreover, there is this sense of sisterhood among the people around you. It's a different level of comfort while playing the sport with women.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New Indian Express
10 hours ago
- New Indian Express
Maramadi, an agrarian sport fading into oblivion
PATHANAMTHITTA: Conducted in ankle-deep slushy fields after the paddy harvest, 'Maramadi', (bull surfing) is not just a race for the villagers of Anandapally in Pathanamthitta, but a symbol of traditional farming, one where man, animal and mud merge in a unique spectacle of tradition and toil. However, the harvest race that once drew thousands to the muddy fields near Anandapally in Adoor during the Malayalam month of Chingam is nearly extinct today. The race was a sight to behold. A pair of bulls yoked to a wooden plank charged down a 100-m waterlogged track, with a rider clinging to the log and two runners guiding them. For viewers, it was rhythm, tradition and unwavering spirit – 'agriculture in motion', as many dubbed it. Started in the 1950s in Adoor Puthuveettil Padi Ela, Anandapally Maramadi was held annually after paddy harvest until 2008, following a Supreme Court directive that banned events involving the use of animals, including Tamil Nadu's Jallikattu. 'While states like Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Maharashtra subsequently passed legislation allowing traditional bull-related sports to resume following a 2017 amendment by the Centre, Kerala has yet to follow suit,' said Varghese Daniel, president of the Anandapally Karshaka Samithi (AKS), the organisers of the Maramadi. Despite promises from successive state governments, neither a Bill has been passed nor an ordinance promulgated to permit Maramadi. 'We were told an ordinance would be brought. Even the CM publicly assured it. But nothing has moved forward,' said AKS secretary V K Stanley. The organisers said Maramadi attracted over 60 bull pairs from eight districts as well as large crowds, including foreign tourists. The event traditionally took place on August 15 during Independence Day celebrations. Bulls, often brought from Tamil Nadu, were specially trained and maintained by local farmers for a considerable cost. Cultural significance Beyond entertainment, Maramadi carried cultural and agricultural significance, serving as a platform to showcase indigenous farming practices and tools, encouraging youth participation in agriculture and promoting rural tourism.
The Hindu
19-07-2025
- The Hindu
Mahesh Narayanan to direct biopic of Indian F1 driver Narain Karthikeyan
Malayalam filmmaker Mahesh Narayanan will direct a biopic on India's first Formula 1 Driver Narain Karthikeyan. Variety reported that the movie will be a Tamil-language feature, chronicling the journey of Karthikeyan. Produced by Faraz Ahsan, Vivek Rangachari and Pratik Maitra, the movie is currently been developed at Blue Marble Films. Shalini Usha Devi, who wrote the Suriya starrer Soorarai Pottru, will pen the script for the F1 movie. Speaking to Variety, Mahesh Narayanansaid, 'Narain Karthikeyan's journey isn't just about racing. It's about belief — in yourself, your country, and a dream no one else can see. That's what drew me to this story.' Karthikeyan, born in Coimbatore, had an early initiation to motorsport, thanks to his father Kakarla Karthikeyan Naidu, who was a rally racer. Karthikeyan soon worked his way through the Formula series, before landing an F1 seat with Jordan in 2005. At the USA Grand Prix, he finished fourth, claiming his first points in the competition. ALSO READ:In conversation with filmmakers Mahesh Narayanan and Wanphrang Diengdoh ahead of IIHS's Urban Lens film festival 'Motorsport gave me everything. This film gives that story to the world,' Karthikeyan, who was conferred with the Padma Shri in 2010, told Variety. Details of cast and crew of the film are yet to be announced.
The Hindu
16-07-2025
- The Hindu
Meet the Masters: An all-women team from India gears up for the World Championships
The sun is beating down on Besant Nagar beach on Saturday morning, and while people are carefully choosing to sit or stand under the scattering of trees nearby, a group of women is hard at work — deftly passing a frisbee, and sprinting across the sand. This all-women team, the Team India Masters Women, has players from different cities including Bengaluru, Ahmedabad, and Chennai, who have come together for their monthly camp in Chennai in the run-up to the World Beach Ultimate Championships (WBUC) in Portimão, Portugal, from November 16 to 22. 'This is the first time that India is sending an all-women team in the Masters category for an international tournament. In the Masters category, all players have to be above the age of 30, and we have players between the ages of 30 and 50 years,' says Smithi Manickam, the team's coach. A player with the Chennai-based Flywild club for ten years now, Smithi, says that in addition to monthly camps in Chennai and specific training plans, their focus is on creating a strong statement at the world championships. 'It is also important that the players have a great campaign overall. Many of our women players have a host of responsibilities, including their careers and families, and they are juggling all of this along with their love for the sport,' she says of her team. The players all have diverse careers and interesting stories of how they discovered the sport and have seen it evolve over the years. At 49 years old, Priya Thineshan — a player with Puyal, a Chennai-based club and the oldest member of the team — says she discovered Ultimate when she was 42 and has not looked back since. 'Growing up, I had always been interested in sports and was looking for a way to get back to it. My family, and my children in particular, have been most encouraging about this,' says Priya, who subtitles films. While Ultimate Frisbee is a rare mixed-gender sport, Nimisha Vasava, a 32-year-old showroom manager from Ahmedabad, says that this is something she cannot stop bragging about. Her teammate, actor Gayathrie Shankar — who first discovered the sport as a great way to use the beach when she moved to Chennai — says she has seen this aspect evolve for the better through the years. 'From being asked to join teams that simply needed to meet the minimum number of women required, to being a part of an all-women team that is now going international, has been amazing,' she says. A professor at IIM-Bengaluru, Sreelata Jonnalagedda first learnt the sport from her students, and later, as she began taking her daughter to practice sessions. 'Playing Ultimate Frisbee gave me a reason to be fit, and the best thing about the sport is truly the variety of things you can do. As an all-women team, we can take on a host of different roles, and of course, the bonding and sisterhood here are unparalleled,' she says. For Smithi, it has been inspiring as a coach to see the grit and determination of her team. Given that the team will be coming together for monthly camps till November in Chennai, there is a lot more intense training, practice games to be played, and team-building in store for them.
