On International Tug of War Day, here's looking at a sport played since 12th C AD and what it will take to regain pull
Players demonstrate a sitting foul at a training session at Dadar beach. Pics/Shadab Khan
On a Sunday morning at Dadar beach, strays bark at the sight of nine men and women, divided into two teams, pulling the ends of a thick rope. Whether they are protesting or cheering at the sight of this, we don't know. But what we do know is that both teams are equally strong and we cannot gauge if one of them will cross the white line any time soon. It is a test of strength as much as it is a test of patience.
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Commonly known in the sub-continent as rassi kheench, tug of war (ToW) is a sport so widely loved — it is a classic during family picnics and school trips — that when you mention it as a game governed by a federation, you're likely to see many shocked faces. Our parents were, too, when we took up the game back in school at the district level. So, the training session at the beach looks all too familiar. But for Satish Kharatmal, 28, it's just another day at work.
It's a foul to have your right hand in front, and constantly change your grip
As the head coach of Tug of War Association Mumbai, recognised by the Tug of War Federation of India and affiliated with the Indian Olympic Association, he conducts two-hour sessions every morning starting at 4 am with the senior team consisting of government officials followed by a mixed batch of interested individuals. Many of them go on to play national-level tournaments — an open national championship will be held next month in Kathmandu to promote the sport in Nepal.
Play it right
"The game is played all over the city, but the difference is that some play it officially while it's just fun for others," Kharatmal says, shedding light on an unfortunate incident in December last year where 19-year-old Jibin Sunny of Somaiya College of Nursing lost his life during sports day. "If you do not play the game keeping in mind its rules, there's a high possibility of injury. For instance, he [Sunny] had the rope around his neck, while the person standing in the anchor position i.e. the last member in the line, needs to have the end of the rope around their arm," he tells us, explaining the different types of fouls that range from an incorrect grip of the rope to sitting on the ground for more than three seconds. One game has three rounds of 15 minutes each, after which a winner is determined. There is no upper age limit (an eight-year-old can participate in the mini sub-junior category), but there is a combined weight limit. For instance, the limit for the U-18 team is 640 kg. Strength and power training are also essential.
Satish Kharatmal, Sashikant Pawar, Rohit Thogalla and Aishwarya Mahadeshwar
City scene
"In India, the game is played in Punjab, where children receive around R20,000 to R25,000 as prize money. In Maharashtra, we don't see that. Students would previously get sports quota for playing the sport. So, a lot of them would only join us to get marks," Kharatmal laments, adding that ToW used to be an Olympic sport from 1900 to 1920 but it gradually became ridden with technical errors. "The Mumbai team bags the gold at the state-level. But of course, we aren't close to the West where players have a pulling stamina of about nine minutes. We're at about two," he reveals, advocating for greater government support.
A true team game
"This game is all about unity; however strong one person is, they alone cannot win a match. And I now feel that awareness has started to spread through the nagarsevak chashak and district-level championships," says ToW player Shashikant Pawar, 32, who works with the jail police. ToW is also good for camaraderie. Rohit Thogalla is a 22-year-old architecture student, who was introduced to ToW in class 10.
"I was shy and after coming here I actually started talking to people and made friends," he recalls. Thogalla went on to win a gold medal at the national level. "People think that the game is only for people who go to the gym and have muscles, but it's all about the technique," he says, and Aishwarya Mahadeshwar, a 19-year-old student at MD College, concurs, "I started when I was 16 with no knowledge of any sport. Till date, this is the only sport I play and I like the fact that you have to develop your skills over time." Kharatmal and his team provide free training, and conduct demos across schools and colleges.
At Eklavya Sports Club, Kings Circle, Dadar East.
Free
Call 7738345607
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