Udta India: Mumbai's frisbee players vie for a spot on global map

Wondering why a few folks have been diving into Juhu's hot sand on sweaty summer mornings trying to catch a flying disc only to give it a hearty sling and put it to flight all over again?
Because they were prepping up for a world championship... of Frisbee! Yes, that round and colourful piece of plastic that you flung around as a child on holidays and picnics.India has four national Frisbee teams -- men's, women's, mixed and masters and they are headed for the World Ultimate and Guts Championship in London this month for a faceoff with 40 other countries.
From students tossing Mr Frisbie's cookie tins in American universities to a professional sport on international playgrounds, the game has travelled much. It is now the fastest growing sport and was recognized by the international Olympic Com mittee last year. Yet the sport is relatively unknown in India. While it has a long way to go before it commands the same adulation as football or cricket, the 175 grams of plastic has been quietly shaping ambitions with close to 50 frisbee teams scattered around the country.
From management executives to odd-jobbers, engineering grads to school dropouts, frisbee is bringing them all together and helping this bunch of underdogs find their feet in national teams made up of cities like Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai, Ahmedabad, Bangalore and Pune.
Even a few years ago 19-year-old Ganesan Moorti from a fishing village in Chennai had not heard of frisbee until he stumbled upon a group playing frisbee on the beach and was asked to flick the disc back at them.Today, he plays the game like a pro. A frisbee player by dawn and a dental assistant by day, Ganesan will be the centre of attention at the World Championship. So will Maksood Chaudhary, 23 who had to drop out of school in Mumbai because his family could not afford it. His brush with the flying disc was accidental too when in the middle of high jump practice he was asked to join a Frisbee group on the Juhu beach. Maksood's family returned to their village in Gujarat but he has stayed on -to study and continue fronting India like he did at the Under 23 World Championships last year. Ganesan and Maksood are part of The Pride the men's team.
The women's squad has fought battles of their own to play the sport and call themselves the Wolf Pack.“For the strength of the pack is the wolf, and the strength of the wolf is the pack,“ they chorus. “It's not just helping establish ourselves as athletes but as strong, independent women,“ says Megna Shankaranarayanan, captain of the Wolf Pack with “30 percent“ of its members from families struggling to make ends meet.
Ultimate Frisbee or simply Ultimate as players call it is played by two seven-member teams on a football-sized field with an end zone on each side. The aim is to pass the disc to teammates and hit the end zone for a score. It also happens to be the only sport with a key element missing: referees. Governed by the “spirit of the game“ it relies on players to resolve fouls and stick to the rules and joys of play . “Something that we've imbibed and implement outside the playing field too,“ says Abhishek Srinivas from Bangalore.
“After a game, both teams form a spirit circle and discuss each other's performances,“ explains Craig Fonseca who runs a Frisbee club for beginners in Mumbai called Teen Guna Lagaan. Interestingly India has been consistent in winning the “most spirited team“ award at most championships.
This non-contact game where men and women play on the same team at the same time and on the same field has deeper social significance and non-profits like Pudiyador in Chennai and Down to Earth in Mumbai or universities like IIM and TIFR are building their own community teams to cultivate life skills.
Unlike other sports, Frisbee does not involve any financial rewards and can often make it difficult for players to convince families of their need to play just for the love of the sport. “You want to take a day off to play with a flying disc? Don't you play that with dogs?“ are some of the retorts they've learnt to tackle. Girls have a tougher time with parents worried about the tan and scars that might ward off a suitable groom.Flaunting their purple jersey with a tiger and a peacock staring back Abhishek smiles, “This is all that matters today .“
“Olympic recognition will hopefully bring in more sponsors and visibility,“ says Samarth Shetty, one of the six players from Mumbai playing at the World Championship. Previously the teams have scraped together funds from individual donors. This time, they have crowd-funded their way to the world championship.
This is not India's maiden outing at a world championship though. “Last year at the Dubai Men's Beach Championship we beat toppers like Germany , Japan and Ireland to finish in the eighth position,“ said Samarth who belongs to Storm Chasers, one of the oldest Frisbee clubs in Mumbai. Storm Chasers was founded six years ago at a park in Malad with five players flinging a disc for fun. Word of mouth and bystander effect has helped the team snowball to 40.
The teams are fairly multicultural too with players from Singapore, Geneva and Canada. Mathew Zemel, the men's coach is a professional Ultimate player from Seattle who moved to India in March to train the squad. He wants to be part of the changing landscape for the sport.“The powerful aspect is that it isn't just a low-cost, high-energy game with potential for mass appeal. It also gives players a sense of purpose.“
If kabaddi's feat is anything to go by, frisbee's big moment could just be a disc throw away.