Introduced to the sport merely three months before the 37th National Games, the 22-member Gatka contingent from Goa is excited at the prospect of competing in front of their home crowd, with the sport making its debut as a demonstrative discipline here.
Coached by Seby Fernandes, a Black Belt in Karate and an exponent of Silambam — a form of martial-art popular in Tamil Nadu – all the members of the Goa squad are local college students who are confident that the sport can become popular in the coastal state.
Gatka is a traditional Sikh martial art that traces its roots back to the 17th century when Sikh warriors, known as Nihangs, developed it as a means of self-defence and protecting their faith.
“We can be the torchbearers of the sport in Goa, the future seems bright. We were introduced to the sport in July and in three-four months we have started regular training. There is a long way to go for the sport to develop here, but we couldn’t have asked for a better platform than the 37th National Games as a launchpad,” Joel Fernandes, a player of the Goa team said.
Joel is hopeful that Goa athletes will bag some medals, even though, those won in demonstrative events will not be added to the overall tally.
“I started playing the sport in the state a couple of years back. Initially, it was a challenge to convince parents, But then when the sport was introduced in the Khelo India Games and School Games Federation of India (SGFI) curriculum, it made the work easier.”
“In July we started a camp that went on till October 19, and on September 19, we held selection trials from among those who attended the camp. At the trials, we selected the best 22 (11 men and 11 women). I’m confident that our athletes will return with medals.”
Another player from the home side suggested that there is rising hope among the youngsters that they could be engaged in local schools as coaches and may also fetch government jobs, once they start taking part in the national level competitions.
While Goa made its entry as the host side in the competition, there are seven other sides taking part with a total of 176 players (88 men and 88 women) registering for the competition, that started on Tuesday.
Gatka Federation of India (GFI) secretary Baljinder Singh Toor said the introduction of the sport at the National Games will provide a much-needed boost, as the sport strives for pan-India presence.
While the sport has been able to spread its wings far and wide, with this year’s National Championships being conducted in Assam, Toor said, “We already have our presence in almost 25 states and the introduction at the National Games as a demonstrative discipline will help people understand the sport better.”
Explaining the sport in a nutshell, Talvinder Singh, one of the coaches said, “Gatka is derived from three words, Ga means Gati (Speed), Ta means Taalmel (Coordination) and Ka means Samay (Time) and the sport involves all components of physical fitness.”
