Bending it on wheels

While football fever raged in Germany and worldwide for the World Cup in June-July 2006, it was football on scooters that hogged a bit of the limelight in Bombay. The players were astride two-wheelers, so was the goalie, and no ‘hand of God’ was allowed!

The ‘All-Parsi Football on Kinetic Scooter’ Cup at Rustom Baug on July 2, ’06 saw a participation of 11 teams from different Parsi colonies and a vocal crowd of spectators gathered on a Sunday morning at grounds made soggy by the proverbial Bombay monsoon. "It was such an unusual event that it got a mention in 16 newspapers, including the Marathi and Gujarati ones. Several TV channels – ESPN, Star, Sahara, TV 18… showed it. We have received an offer to do it as a championship, not just for Parsis but as a national event,” says biking champion Rustom Patel. Rustom’s father Kersi, who is in his 60s, had thought of the idea of football on scooters about five years ago, but the plan could not be carried to fruition for various reasons. The Patels – Kersi and his sons Zubin, Neville and Rustom – are a family famous for their wheel power, be it bikes or cars!

Guarding the goal in an unusual match; Cawas Mistry (far right, top) conveys the excitement to TV interviewer and (below, from left) Rustom and Kersi Patel and Dinshaw Mehta Photo: Fali Palkhivala

With five players per team, the matches were of 20 minutes’ duration, with a half time break. "A good player in this game should be both, a good footballer and a good biker. It is a test of skill and stamina. This game required brutal strength,” Rustom told Mumbai Mirror, July 3, 2006. The Patels’ team, Rustom Baug (A) lost in the semi final to Rustom Baug (B). Walking away with the Cup was the Cyrus 5 team who also won a cash award of Rs 10,000.

Cawas Ronnie Mistry’s spastic disability did not dissuade him from joining Rustom Baug (B): "I wanted to do something new. It was very difficult to control the scooter and the ball, and not just because of the slush. But no one got hurt. The rules were very strict. You got a yellow card if you went over the limit set for the scooter’s speed and that meant you were out of the game! The referee had a tough time too! But it was great fun.”