A hand held sport

"I started playing handball when I joined college. I was always interested in sports and learning new techniques. As soon as I found out about handball, I started doing my research and thought I should give it a shot and there was no turning back. After representing India in four countries, I’m so glad I went out of my comfort zone and decided to try a sport that is so underrated in our country,” says Hyderabad based Romaana Sabzeh who was the official Indian goalkeeper for all the matches that were played in France, Germany, Spain and Sweden.

Romaana Sabzeh

"Sportspersons in other countries have a lot more exposure to different sports. There are a lot more challenges that we face when we are playing abroad. Every player and all sports activities are welcomed in other countries and India has a long way to go to get to that stage.” In India, we worship only one sport, cricket and all other sports are on the back burner.
Sabzeh used to train five to six hours a day even during her summer vacation. She says, "The training would start at 6 a.m. and end by lunch time. I wouldn’t say training is difficult, but you need to work hard to achieve certain goals. My diet would be home cooked meals but I would have a cheat day every Sunday, which was when I got to eat fast food.”
The sportswoman is currently recovering her form after multiple fractures in an accident while playing a game of handball in August last year. "I had a bad fall on the court during a game just a month before leaving to play league matches. I was hospitalized for a couple of days and I found out that I had a fractured knee, a fractured ankle and a broken elbow. This incident was absolutely heartbreaking. There was both physical and emotional pain. The timing was very bad and I had to back out of a tournament. I still have difficulty running and doing other activities. I would love to plan a comeback but my body is just not ready for it. But I firmly believe in miracles.”
The Sabzeh family has been very supportive of her sporting career. She says, "I’m grateful to have understanding and accepting parents. They knew that I was never going to accept being a mediocre child and I had to do something that would bring out the best in me. As long as I maintained a good balance between my education and playing, my parents did not (object).”
Sabzeh’s father Behrooz, a Zoroastrian Irani who used to run Irani cafes in Deolali and Hyderabad is now retired. His parents were immigrants from Iran. Her mother Veera (née Maneksha), who is originally from Bombay, works at the British Library in Hyderabad. Romaana was born and brought up in Hyderabad but alternated between living in Bombay and Hyderabad. She completed her schooling from Nasr School in Hyderabad and graduated in economics from St Francis College, Hyderabad. She now works for Uber as an operations specialist in brand safety. Elder brother Cheraag is presently studying for his MS degree in Australia.
A proud Zoroastrian, Romaana terms the Hyderabad and Secunderabad community, as "very close-knit. I have been encouraged and felicitated for my achievements by the Zoroastrian Club. Despite our shrinking numbers worldwide, Parsis have always made a mark wherever they go and I still think that Zoroastrianism is undergoing a revival which means that we have a bright future.”