It’s a rain-soaked afternoon at the Dharavi Sports Complex and a group of hijab-clad kabaddi players are warming up for a practice game against a local team. As they wait for their opponents to get ready, one can hear words like, ‘ Haleh shoma chetoreh’ or ‘ Khoobam’.
They crack a joke among themselves before their head coach Shailaja Jain - or Mrs. Jain, as they call her - spells out instructions in Farsi. A seasoned coach from Nashik, Jain has been working with this Iran women’s team for the last seven years, with her efforts bearing fruit in 2018 when she guided the team to its historic gold medal win in the Asian Games.
The Iran women’s kabaddi team during their camp in Mumbai
Shuttling between Tehran and Nashik, Jain has picked up Farsi quite fluently and to avoid her thoughts being lost in translation, she prefers communicating with the team in Farsi. And, that works perfectly.
Following Mrs. Jain’s orders, the women get into ‘match mode’ and take their positions. The laughter and smiles make way for ruthless raiding and some aggressive tackles on the court. The raiders dominate the show, ably supported by a relentless defense as the visitors snuff out any opportunity for their opponents, and clinch the game.
Asian Games ahoy: Iran to China via India
Ever since Iran won gold at the Asian Games in Jakarta five years ago, this side hasn’t featured in international tournaments and ever since the COVID-19 outbreak three years ago, there hasn’t been any exposure tours either. This Mumbai trip, therefore, is part of its preparation for the upcoming Asian Games.
At a time when most teams are busy giving ‘final touches’ to their Asian Games preparations, the women from Iran are desperately looking to get some match simulations and have played nine practice matches against local teams for the same.
“We have always looked up to India as a kabaddi nation and it’s fantastic to be here. Our team has been facing intense competition from various teams and the players are getting to learn a lot on this tour,” Iranian women’s kabaddi Team Manager Zahra Rahiminejadnoudijeh said.
The lack of practice threatens to put their Asiad title defence in jeopardy, but the women aren’t losing hope.
“Over the last five years, we haven’t had any matches or practice. So, as we gear up for yet another Asian Games, it is hard for us to aim for another gold medal because every other country has had proper practice and matches, whereas we haven’t had any,” Ghazal Khalaj, one of the senior-most members of the team, tells Sportstar.
“We have been practising at home since January this year and the reason I find this tour of Mumbai important is because it allows us to assess our team and help us in coming up with a strategy ahead of the Asian Games,” says raider Zahra Karimi.
Though the local teams haven’t been able to pose a threat to the touring Iran team, the players believe that these games have at least given them an opportunity to understand their strengths and weaknesses.
“It would have been better for us had we been able to play against a few other countries as well, like Korea or Japan. Last time, we lost to China, so it would have been better for us had we got a chance to play against a few teams there, but since we cannot travel to China, we are okay with playing in India,” says Khalaj, before adding with a smile: “These games have been relatively easy for us, but at least, these matches have given us a chance to get into match simulation. We haven’t played any tournaments for more than four years and have just had seven months of practice, so yeah, this is good for us.”
Even coach Jain understands that retaining gold at the Asiad is not a cakewalk especially with negligible international exposure. Back in Iran, she divided 40 players into 10 groups and got them to spar. Not only did it help players individually and collectively figure out different strategies, it also helped boost their confidence.
“Expectations will always be high, especially for defending champions. I know that it’s not easy to win back-to-back gold medals as there will also be challenges, but if our target is fixed, then we have to overcome the challenges,” Jain says, “It’s also about the psychology and how you handle situations…”
Iran’s raiding unit looked fluid in the simulation games against local Indian sides during their camp in Mumbai.
The Golden Dream
When the COVID-19 pandemic shut the world done three years ago, many members of this Iranian side did not know what to do next. With no training, and no hopes of featuring in competitions, uncertainty loomed large, but as right cover Zahra Astereki points out, it’s the dream of winning another gold medal in China (in 2022, the originally scheduled year for the Asiad) that kept them going.
“We have always been dreaming of another gold medal,” Astereki says, as two of her namesakes - Zahra Karimi and Zahra Abbasi - nod in agreement.
The women’s side isn’t the only one to take a hit. Even the men’s kabaddi ecosystem has barely seen any competitive exercises post COVID. The Pro Kabaddi League has been the exception, but the international scene ran dry. it wasn’t until the Asian Kabaddi Championships in June this year that the Iran men’s side got onto the mat. The women though, haven’t even had that.
The namesakes: Zahra Astereki (L), Zahra Abbasi and Zahra Karimi in Mumbai. | Photo Credit: Shayan Acharya
“But now, we have hope,” Farideh Zarif Dosut, who was the captain of the team when it defeated India in the summit clash in Jakarta, says.
Like many of her colleagues, Farideh, too, is not comfortable in English, but there’s no hesitation when she declares -“It’s for that gold!”
A few members of this team are kabaddi coaches. Some are physical trainers, others teach in schools. For a large part of the Iran contingent, balancing livelihood and their passion for donning Iran’s colours on the kabaddi mat is a tough task, but the lot is happy to take on any barriers coming in the way of their dreams.
What helps is the survival of a domestic structure.
“Our league structure is pretty good and there are several talented players,” says Astereki. “We have competition in our country each year, which is similar to the PKL and it’s really good. We watch the Indian league as well and learn quite a few things, which have helped us…”
An Indian hand in Iranian glory
India and Iran are fierce rivals in the world of kabaddi. They are two of the strongest nations in the sport and routinely lock horns on the international stage in the men’s and women’s variants. In the men’s game, Ashan Kumar, who is now the Indian head coach, played an important role in helping the Iranians win silver at the Guangzhou Asiad in 2010. KC Suthar, another veteran Indian coach, was at the helm when Iran finished behind India in the 2016 Kabaddi World Cup in Ahmedabad.
Suthar was the one who recommended Jain for the women’s team coaching gig.
“When Iran’s Kabaddi Federation was looking for a woman coach, KC Suthar - the then men’s coach - recommended my name and that’s how I got the job. Initially, I had to get the house in order and then pick players who could fix the weak links and that’s how, slowly, we started rebuilding the team,” Jain says.
Iran women’s Kabaddi team head coach Shailaja Jain during the preparatory camp in Mumbai. | Photo Credit: Shayan Acharya
Though Iran has sub-junior, junior and senior category teams, kabaddi is still not played at the school level, and Jain cites that as one of the reasons behind lack of match-experience. “But we are trying hard,” she says.
Challenges on the mat aside, the experience has had its rocky phases for the coach personally. When she travelled to Tehran for the first time, she was a bit concerned.
“I am a vegetarian, so initially I thought about how I would manage. But the Federation arranged a cook for me and with time, they arranged a separate gas and a rice cooker for me, and that made life easy,” she reminisces.
Giving the Iranians the ‘Bombay’ experience
A few weeks ago, when the players heard about their trip to Mumbai, they were excited. This was a city most of them had only seen in Bollywood films.
Having worked with this team for years now, Jain has, time and again, narrated stories from India to each of them. Once in Mumbai, the team wanted to plan a tour of the city’s historical hotspots and catch a glimpse of Mannat - the residence of actor Shah Rukh Khan.
However, a hectic schedule has forced the side to say hotel-bound, much to everyone’s visible disappointment.
“We have only been to a mall so far. Even though we want to visit a few places, there’s not much time,” Astereki says with a smile.
The only time they get to catch a glimpse of the city is when they travel from Four Seasons Hotel hotel in Worli to their practice venue. But Asteriki and a few of her friends have managed to take a stroll near the hotel and have made sure that they capture each and every moment of the tour on their social media handles.
“We have enjoyed every bit of it,” says Karimi. “Now, we will go back and get busy with some last-minute preparations and be hopeful of our chances in the Asian Games,” she says, adding: “We have always dreamed of claiming another gold medal and that’s why, we are giving it our all, crossing all the hurdles…”
Next week onwards, a camp gets underway in Tehran before the contingent leaves for China.
Life hasn’t been a bed of roses for the Iranian women kabaddi players, but so far, they have managed to cut the noise and silence their critics. The gold medal in Jakarta gave them a new lease of life and the women from Iran want to cement their place as champions on Asia in Hangzhou. Godspeed!
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