Coimbatore: An 18-year-old girl from the city is set to represent India in the Asian roll ball tournament to be held from December 16 to 20 in Goa.
Mahathi M K who has been pursuing roll ball since the age of six, has now gained the pride of becoming the first medalist from Tamil Nadu to be selected to represent India in the national senior category.
Mahathi has so far secured six national medals, one federation cup and five south zonal medals under various categories. Following these achievements, she has been called up for the national team to play as a forward.
"Though she was interested in roll ball from a young age it was only in 2015 that she participated in the nationals because roll ball wasn't formally recognised as a sport in the state. However, in the following years, when the state govt started recognising it, many students were able to participate in zonal, state, and nationals," her parents told TOI.
Mahathi's trainer V Rajasekar, who is also the Indian roll ball men's team coach said, "I have been training her since 2016. Though she is young, her maturity when it comes to the sport is significantly high. She is the youngest Indian player to be selected for this tournament." He recollected how the state team under her captainship had played effectively creating history by winning gold medals both in the under 17 and under 14 categories. She is a hard worker and has always been punctual, he added.
"About 2,000 students under several age categories have taken up roll ball across Coimbatore district. Out of these at least 100 students are eligible for nationals," the coach added." He stated that roll ball is a versatile sport which provides both mental and physical fitness. He further pointed out that roll ball players being employed in govt jobs for the last four to five years has elevated the value of roll ball among the young generation.