For 29-year-old V.G. Manikanta Reddy, it will be a different kind of challenge when he leads India for the first time in the Asian Flag Football Championship in Bangkok from June 8.
For the record, the big difference between American football and Flag Football is that the latter is a fully non-contact sport, not requiring any protective gear and doesn’t feature many rough tackles too.
Interestingly, Manikanta, a software developer with Sagarsoft India Ltd., was initially a rugby player but gradually got lured to Flag Football and is now a regular. “Having led India in the 2018 World Championship where India finished eighth, I am aware of the huge responsibility [that comes with the upcoming tourney],” he tells The Hindu after the team completed the preparatory camp at Skykings Football Academy in Bowenpally here.
The 12-member Indian team comprises seven players from the two Telugu-speaking States which in a way reflects the kind of passion for the sport here though it is not recognised by the Sports Authority of India. “It is just our love for this sport that we train so hard hoping for better things future, if not for us at least for the next generation of American Flag Footballers,” says Manikanta, also a former national swimmer and a district-level volleyball player.
This engineering graduate is confident of coming back with the trophy from Bangkok because of the exposure to more formidable teams in US and Europe recently.
“We have a perfect blend of youth and experience with some of them having featured in the NFL in US,” he says.
Thanking coach Ch. Praveen Kumar Reddy (also from Telangana), assistant coach Mohammed Sibgathulla of Karnataka and sponsor Pramod of Novus Green Energy Systems for extending support to the team, he adds, “The sport is certainly picking up with AFFI, founded in 2008, organising clinics and setting up academies for sub-juniors and seniors across India.”