For daily wage earners Nithyanandam and his wife Umamaheswari, October 17, 2019 was a restless day. Their daughter Lavanya Nithyanandam was in Thimpu, Bhutan, a world away from their home in Madurai, as a member of the Indian Under-15 team at the South Asian Football Federation (SAFF) U-15 Women’s Championships. The final against Bangladesh was tense but the Indian outfit kept their composure to clinch it 5-3 in the penalty shootout. It was a surreal moment as it dawned on Nithyanandam and Uma that their teenaged daughter was now an international champion. Lavanya, who they once discouraged from playing football, had accomplished glory beyond their wildest dreams.
As a little girl, Lavanya had a natural talent for sprinting. Her brother Dhanasekar, four years her senior, was a gifted footballer and watching him play drew young Lavanya to the sport. If only to indulge his little sister, Dhanasekar took his eager sibling to his coach who rebuffed her, asking Lavanya to stay focused on athletics. However, the footballing bug had bitten Lavanya and she soon returned, convincing the coach to give her a chance. Almost immediately, her resplendent skills shone through and sparked a wave of girls in her school to enthusiastically start playing football. For the first time, a girls team was formed at the TVS Sundaram Matriculation Higher Secondary School in Madurai, and Lavanya was its central figure.
Lavanya in action during the RFYS National Finals in Mumbai Jan 2020
Dhanasekar became Lavanya’s guiding light, calming the frayed nerves of his yet to be convinced parents about the path their daughter was taking, as she continued to sparkle at local tournaments. After two years, the school coach summoned Dhanasekar, advising him to send Lavanya to the Namakkal sports hostel, run by the Sports Development Authority of Tamil Nadu (SDAT), where she would have access to better facilities and training methods.
Coach Gokila on the sidelines at RFYS National Finals in Mumbai in January 2020
Uma was hesitant, concerned about Lavanya taking part in a contact sport that could cause grievous injury. The early days at the hostel were a struggle and Lavanya, who had never lived away from family, was lonely. Gradually, as she formed friendships and improved her skills, she came to embrace the opportunity and her parents back home too became more accepting of the decision as stories of Lavanya’s success began to appear in the local media.
As a member of the Government Girls Higher Secondary School team in Namakkal, where students from the sports hostel pursue their education, Lavanya won the zonal leg of the Reliance Foundation Youth Sports (RFYS) in Coimbatore in 2019. That led to a spot in the national finals in Mumbai later in the year, where the best teams from the zonal competitions across the country converge. The experience was an eye opener, as Lavanya competed against the top talent in the country in her age-group and witnessed world class footballing infrastructure and facilities for the first time.
In April 2019, the All India Football Federation (AIFF), with the Under-17 Women’s World Cup meant to be played in India in 2020 (since rescheduled to 2022 due to the Covid-19 pandemic) on the radar, sought a list of players born after 2003 from RFYS, who had impressed in tournaments conducted across the country. Players who had participated in these tournaments were spread over 25 centres across India and 240 were identified for six zonal camps. At these camps, zonal scouts from the AIFF shortlisted 52 players, who were called up to the final scouting camp in Mumbai. Alex Ambrose, Head Coach of the U-17 Women's team at the time, identified the final nine from this group and among those was Lavanya, who went on to earn a spot in the Indian team that returned triumphant from the U-15 SAFF women’s championships in Bhutan.
“The opportunity to participate in the national scouting camp was a big moment for me,” says Lavanya. “It gave me the chance to showcase my skillset and make it all the way to selection trials for the national camp, which wouldn’t have happened if not for RFYS.”
Lavanya (2nd from right) Scouted for the National U-17 camp
Lavanya’s closest associate on her journey so far has been Mariyammal, a striker of immense potential. The girls’ paths crossed at the Namakkal sports hostel, where Mariyammal too had arrived having followed a similar pathway. Born in Trichy, Mariyammal’s parents Balamurugan and Ganthimathi, both weavers, moved the family to Salem. Young Mariyammal also began as a gifted athlete, but her elder brother Kalaiarasan was a footballer who noticed her eyes would “light up” when a ball was being kicked around in her vicinity. Backed by her supportive parents, Mariyammal made dazzling progress at the school level, and fondly recalls the exultation she felt upon scoring her first goal in a competitive tournament with a rasping left-footer.
Mariyammal in action during the RFYS National Finals in Mumbai in January 2020
Upon arrival at Namakkal, the trophy cabinet started to fill up and as a member of the Tamil Nadu state team, Mariyammal scored 11 goals in 6 matches to lead them to victory at the junior nationals in Goa in 2018. Scouted for the national U-17 camp on the back of her eye catching performances for the state team, she displayed her exceptional skills at RFYS tournaments in 2018 and 2019, both at the zonal level and then the national finals in Mumbai. As a member of the Indian Under-17 team, Mariyammal also travelled to Turkey for a preparation tournament, where she scored three goals, finishing as the tournament’s leading goal-scorer. Unfortunately, the Covid-19 pandemic scuttled her chance to showcase her talent in front of home crowds in a World Cup.
Mariyammal - Player of the match at National Finals of RFYS National Football Championships Jan 2020
For Lavanya and Mariyammal, chasing their footballing dreams has had a transformational impact on their personalities. From being extremely unsure and shy, Dhanasekar says his sister is now a self-confident individual, able to assert herself in a group. Balamurugan makes a similar observation about his daughter, saying that from feeling uneasy and nauseous when having to do a simple task like traveling in a bus, Mariyammal is now undaunted by any challenge thrown at her. Their inspirational journey so far has also had a far-reaching impact in their home towns, with an increasing number of parents encouraging their girls to pursue footballing glory.
Lavanya (standing 2nd from rightin the back row) and Mariyammal (standing 4th from left in the back row) with their team at the RFYS National Finals
“After seeing Lavanya's accomplishments, lots of parents want their children to shine in sports,” says Dhanasekar, with a hint of unmistakable pride in his voice. “There was a watchwoman in their school who wanted her daughter to excel in sports after seeing what Lavanya achieved. The watchwoman’s daughter went to the sports hostel trials but didn’t get selected. But she is undeterred and is now working hard again for selection next year.”
This article was created by Reliance Foundation Youth Sports as a part of a partnership with TNM to promote young sportspersons.