Chasing World Cup dream despite poverty

RANCHI:  At home, she often has little by way of nutrition. Surviving mostly on just pani-bhaat (rice fermented in water) as her mother is a daily wage labourer and father a drunkard, Anita Kumari has managed to make it to the list of 33 for the national coaching camp at Jamshedpur for the forthcoming FIFA Under-17 World Cup team.

Fourth among five sisters, Anita’s parents are so poor that they can’t even afford green vegetables or pulses. They live in Chari-Hochar village under Kanke Block in Ranchi. “Even though our financial condition is very bad, somehow I managed to get all my five daughters educated and got three of them married. My fourth daughter is Anita,” said Asha Devi. She is keeping her finger crossed hoping Anita’s success would pull the family out of poverty. 

Anita is currently undergoing training along with the team at Jamshedpur. “Even though I had to face a lot of adversities and was not getting proper diet, kit, and other facilities, I was determined to do my best and got selected for the Under-17 team,” she said. 

Villagers discouraged them from pursuing the game and even threw glass pieces in the ground to prevent them from playing football, Anita’s youngest sibling Vinita shared. Anita was coached by Anand Prasad Gope, who offers free training to nearly 300 youth, mostly girls. “Anita is a very serious player. Through her dedication and hard work she managed to make it to this level,” said Gope. In all, seven girls from Jharkhand have been selected for the world cup, he added.