On the run

"We believe in catching them young. We are sincere in our efforts. We will produce champions,” says Dara Doo­masia, Bombay Parsi Punchayet (BPP) chief athletics coach. Stating that the BPP athletics training program has a core group of about 30 children between the ages of four-and-a-half to around 12, Doomasia adds: "We make it plain to newcomers that they will have to work hard and train regularly. This is not a play center.” Parents are supportive, with several of them sending more than one child for training.

The sincerity of effort is beginning to bear fruit. "BPP athletes have won in every single meet in which they have competed in Bombay and Poona, right from the Mumbai Schools Sports Association Inter-School meet, the Bombay City District, the YMCA Open and the Maharashtra state meet,” Doomasia states.

At the Maharashtra state sub-junior athletics meet in Poona in February 2009, six BPP athletes represented the Bombay City District. Five of them qualified for the finals of their respective events. Two of their youngest athletes, Natasha General and Naozad Wadia, won gold medals and were crowned individual champions in the girls and boys under eight (U/8) respectively, receiving the Mayor’s trophy for the best girl and best boy athlete in the midgets (U/8)) category. Piroza Master won bronze in the 300 m girls U/12 and missed the bronze in the 100 m, standing fourth amidst girls from all over Maharashtra. Hira Havewwalla stood fourth in the girls U/14 shot put, while Khushnum Wadia came fifth in girls U/12 shot put.

"Two or three of these athletes will probably be selected to represent Maha­rashtra at the nationals. BPP trustee Jimmy Mistry has sanctioned Rs 36,000 as support for Natasha from his Parsi Resource Group,” Doomasia says. "The state meet was tough. The Thana people were very good. Piroza has been training for the last four years. She is not a born athlete so she has to work that much harder,” says her mother Farzana. With starting blocks introduced for the first time in the U/12 category (it was U/14 earlier), the youngster lost time at the start of the 100 m and could not cover the lost ground to get into podium position.

BPP athletes had also done exceptionally well at the Bombay City District meet in January at the Priyadarshini Stadium, garnering a total of 29 medals — 11 gold, 15 silver and three bronze. Naozad, Natasha and Piroza were the individual champions in their respective categories.

Top: Winning teams with chief coach Dara Doomasia (ext left), BPP chairman Dinshaw Mehta (ext right) and wife Pansy (holding trophy); 2nd row (from left) Hoshedar Chichgar, Hormuz Master, Kayumars Gandhi, Yohan Bhumgara with Mi­thoo Jesia, Dara Dooma­sia (fourth from left) with Mar­zeen and Khushnum Wadia, Viraf, Piroza and Farzana Master and (front) Natasha General and Naozad Wadia

Despite the fact that six of their best runners were away in Poona for the state championship, the BPP team won 96 medals (58 gold, 29 silver and nine bronze) at the XXIX Jal Pardivala All Parsees Athletic Meet on February 7-8, lifting the men and women’s team trophies as well, for the second year in succession. They also had five individual champions — Jazeel Limzerwala and Aatush Kalyaniwala (boys U/18 and U/14 respectively), Hormuz Master and Kayomars Gandhi (boys U/12), Binaisha Bilimoria and Naaz Bachana (girls U/16 and U/10 respectively). "Bachana will be state champion soon. She is coming up very well,” Doomasia believes. The fastest man of the meet was Limzerwala, who has been captain of the Maharashtra football U/14, U/16 and U/18 teams (see "Pursuing goals”). In the relays, the BPP squad made almost a clean sweep, winning nine out of 10.

The children practise every day at the Rustom Baug grounds, where there is also a jumping pit and the requirements for the throws — javelin, discus, shot put. "The fact that there is no proper track would make a difference, but only marginally as the children are very young. There are many constraints from which we suffer. The traffic in Bombay is so heavy that travelling to a place like Priyadarshini Park on Napean Sea Road is virtually impossible on school days. Most of the trainees are from the Dadar, Parel, Lalbaug, Byculla areas. Transport is pooled, even so travel takes an hour-and-a-half because of the work going on for the new flyovers,” Doo­masia asserts.

The four coaches in the team — Doomasia, Viraf Master (Piroza and Hormuz’s father), Nozer Sutaria and Jhangoo Sholapurwalla — keep abreast of new techniques by reading on the net, bringing discs from abroad or calling visiting coaches, Doomasia adds. The arrival of summer and the May vacation will see the training being intensified.