Goal… goal, goal, goal, goal. Standard 10 student Huda Ashifa screamed in front of the camera as she took part in a football commentary challenge offered by her teachers at PPM Higher Secondary School, Kottukkara, Kondotty. Huda’s 47-second video giving high-pitch commentary in Arabic soon became a social media hit with hundreds of people sharing it and congratulating her on her commentary skills.
It was not a live commentary, as the students were given a choice to select any language and match of their liking. Although it coincided with the ongoing European Cup and Copa America football championships, the participants were given the option to give their own commentary to football matches from the past.
“I chose Argentine superstar Lionel Messi scoring that fabulous goal against Nigeria in the 2018 World Cup in Russia,” said Huda, adding that several of Messi’s goals had been celebrated by commentators across the world.
“What made Huda’s Arabic version stand out commendably was her delivery, pitch, intonation, and the throw of words by retaining all the excitement of being in a football arena,” said P.T. Shamsuddin, the school’s physical education teacher who supervised the commentary challenge.
When Huda did her commentary in Arabic, some other students did it in English, Spanish, Malayalam, and Hindi. Some merely imitated television commentators, while others tried to be creative by devising their own methods. But Huda won the hearts of thousands on social media with her uniquely powerful style.
A winner of Arabic mono-act and drama competitions at the district level, Huda said she was influenced by the Arabic and Malayalam commentary. She added that Malayalam commentator Shaiju Damodaran’s screaming style was unique. “The encouragement I get from my grandfather at home to try out anything new has been immense,” she said.
The commentary challenge was one of the dozen-odd home assignments given by Mr. Shamsuddin and his colleagues to energise students during the lockdown. They named the programme ‘Kottukkarayude Kaliyaravam 2021’ as part of celebrating the Euro and Copa championships.
When Standard 8 students were given choices of push-up, digital poster making, and crazy goal reaction challenges, Standard 9 students had options such as ball balancing, status video challenge, and sit-up challenge.
For Standard 10, chain ball balancing and exercise challenge were the choices, apart from the commentary challenge. For higher secondary students, the school gave such items as chain ball balancing, exercise challenge, commentary challenge, and status video challenge.
Students and parents appreciated the challenges, as they provided a much-needed break, often creatively, from the monotony of online classes.