Venkatachari Jagannathan Chennai 26 December 2004 : .It was the providence of God that prevented future Indian female football stars from Cuddalore getting swallowed up by the tsunami on 26/12/04.
These orphan and poor girls were not lucky, but December 26th 2004 was an exception.
On Saturdays and Sundays, the girls would gather in the stadium before going to the beach to practice.
The girls had gathered at the stadium on the Tsunami Day, which fell on a Sunday.I was busy and asked the girls to return to the orphanage.
Mariappan was the Head Master at a Government Higher Secondary school.
We would train on the beaches sands in order to build our legs.
Our coach asked us to return to our hostel and cancelled the beach training session.We saw many people screaming that the tsunami had swept in, and we ran to help them.”We went back to our orphanage, and there was a large amount of people affected by the tsunami,” said a player who represented India at international events.She preferred anonymity due to her employment rules.
“I went to school, was doing paperwork and felt the chair shake.My home phone rang and I was informed that my safety had been compromised.
The football coach said that the sea was overflowing and people were running everywhere.
Mariappan lived near the coast.
He first went to Mariappan’s home, where he saw everyone safe.Then he checked on his family for safety.
I then went to the shore and assisted those affected by the tsunami.On the way, several people were found on the roads.
A huge wave had piled up fishing boats high on trees.The bodies of dead people were placed on large trucks, and buried in the vicinity of our school.
He said that it took almost a year to get over the shock.
Although the women who would become football superstars were protected, relatives weren’t so lucky.They were swept away by the tsunami.
Children who lost one or both of their parents and came from very poor families could be admitted to the government orphanage.
The girls are usually visited by their guardians or relatives once a month.Mariappan said that some of the girls lost their guardians after the tsunami.
V.Vinitha was supported by V.Vinitha’s ‘chithappa,’ her father’s younger brother.His family, however, was washed away in the tsunami.She is still with her mother.He said that the daughters took this bravely.”
Vinitha represented India at the AFC Women’s Asia Cup in Korea, and was the silver winning team at South Asian Football Federation Championship in Pakistan between 2015-16.
Mariappan trained eleven girls who had represented India, as well as several other states and universities.
He is an interesting coach and a guardian of several poor girls.
Children must leave the orphanage after they have passed class 12.Because of their financial situation, they were almost forced to leave higher education.
Mariappan saw their situation and decided not to let their football talents go to waste.
He first accommodated them in his house, then he rented a building and the girls were accommodated there.
He was able to pay for the expenses with his own pocket money and cash donations from kind and generous people.
The football coach stated that Father Peter Rajendiran and Father I.Ratchagar, two Secretaries of St.Joseph College of Arts and Science at Cuddalore, had agreed to allow the football players in without any tuition fees.
Durai Srinivasan, a hotel owner, began giving non-vegetarian meals at night and two eggs each morning to football players.
He explained that this was a way to meet the girls’ nutritional needs since I couldn’t afford to buy the food footballers require.
He added, “That aside S.Manevannan was President of Indira Gandhi School for Sport and Education and also helped financially.”
How did it all start?
The coach was training the boys.”Then, four of us approached Mariappan sir and asked him to teach us football,” stated an international player.
I was amazed at how the girls learned to play.
The girls had seen the play of the boys and were able to absorb the methods.Mariappan stated that the girls received training during weekends after obtaining the necessary permissions from authorities.
Slowly, the number of female players increased.
The inter-school football competition was won by the girls’ soccer team for the first time ever in school history.
Some teachers used to look down on the girls who were poor.He recalled how the attitudes towards girls changed after the victory.
In a very short time, seven girls were selected to play for the state team.
They brought glory to Thiruvalluvar University with the All India Inter-University Football title, as well as South Zone Inter University title.
K.Indumathi is one of the most prominent players.He had previously played for India and captained the Indian football team.
The girls excel academically, and not just on the field of football.
Our trainees have many post-graduate degrees and are now completing their M.Phil.The girls all graduated.Mariappan said that the officials from St.Joseph College of Arts and Science in Cuddalore were able to assist.
A lot of these girls joined the Tamil Nadu Police, and others got married.
(Venkatachari Jagannathan can be contacted at [email protected])
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