Young girls in their colourful costumes, armed with ribbons and hoola-hoops, swirling to the rhythm of the background music, were a picture of grace and poise at the Dharavi Sports Complex, as the group of 16-strong girls was being put through paces by their coach Varsha Upadhyay for the upcoming Queen's Cup rhythmic gymnastics event in Hong Kong.
Starting as young as seven, some of the girls already have ten years of practice to their credit and Upadhyay's squad is on the cusp of breaking into competitive participation at the international level. "Rhythmic gymnastics is an Olympic event, and possibly the only women-oriented sport," said Upadhyay, herself a 35-year veteran of gymnastics—first as a player, and then as a coach and international judge.
True to its name, rhythmic gymnastics is all about rhythm and style. Unlike the regular gymnastics, which is performed with varying apparatus and equipment, in rhythmic one uses just hand-held props and performs the set in a musical background. "There's no tumbling element; it's more like ballet," says the 46-year-old coach, adding that besides competition, rhythmic gymnastics is also a great exercise form for women, with equal emphasis on flexibility, strength and stamina.
Upadhyay's big moment in rhythmic gymnastics came in 2006, when she went to Melbourne for the Commonwealth Games as a judge. "Just seeing the girls from China, Russia and Europe perform, I decided to switch from artistic to rhythmic gymnastics. This was something I could do on my own steam, unlike coaching for artistic gymnastics, which involves a huge infrastructure and running costs," said Upadhyay, adding that the support from the state government is way lesser than required and it is the passion of the coaches and players that keeps the sport going.
She finds it ironic that as a nation we do not care much about investing in nurturing young talent, but we expect medals in Olympics. "In a big city like Mumbai, there are more retail spaces than open spaces. Kids grow up in malls and not on playgrounds," quips the coach, adding that she is glad that after conducting practice sessions at an open terrace in Shivaji Park area, she has finally been given a proper facility at the Dharavi Sports Complex for her sessions.
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