How these slum girls beat football teams of elite schools, won laurels

GURUGRAM: A team going through a tournament not only unbeaten but also keeping a clean sheet (28-0)? Well, that’s what a group of disadvantaged girls achieved in the Diana Jones Football League.
Choma Eagles, from the Gurugram village of Choma Khera (after which they are named), won the league following an emphatic 4-0 result against Bal Bharti Public School (Pitampura). Organised in Delhi by the Royal Rangers Football Club, the tourney was open to under-14 teams (in the under-17 edition, held last November, the Eagles finished runners-up). And earlier this month, these girls triumphed in both U-14 and U-17 categories, at the Doon Cup in Dehradun. The under-14s saw off the challenge of Modern School, Delhi, and Gems School, Dubai, on the way to the title. Clearly, they don’t lack in skills or desire.

It’s a story to warm many a heart, and behind it is the dedication of Colonel (Retd) P K Chowdhry and his wife Anjana. Late in 2016, the Colonel, who was once good enough to play football at the national level, was asked if he would like to coach the girls. “Till the time I met these girls, I was doing nothing! But this has brought meaning to our lives,” Col Chowdhry told TOI.

Choma Khera these days resembles a slum, and it is here that most of the 30 girls reside. They are children of labourers and domestic helps, and until recently, all were studying in two government schools in Palam Vihar — a middle school in Choma Khera and a senior secondary school in Carterpuri.

But their footballing heroics have inspired an act of magnanimity from one Col Bharadwaj, of Colonel’s Public School (Sector 37C). “A week back, he got them admission to his private school. He has waived off everything for these girls, all 30 of them, including school fees, uniforms, books. Even transportation — the bus comes to pick them up from Palam Vihar,” revealed Col Chowdhry.

So, while the Colonel looks after the girls’ footballing education, his wife takes care of their diet and medical requirements. “She’s like a mother to them,” he says. Of course, life is far from rosy. Vandana, 11, has got only one eye. Another girl suffers from a serious eye ailment. But both have embraced football.

Ultimately, shares Col Chowdhry, the girls should be able to earn a decent living one day. “And football is one of the means to achieving that.”