Four sisters of Sarakhdi village star in 'Dangal' tale

AHMEDABAD: Captaining India's under-20 volleyball team at BRICS Games in China last month must have come naturally to 19-year-old Chetna Vala, a native of Sarakhdi village near Kodinar in Gir Somnath district. Chetna's elder sister, Kinjal, had already achieved this feat two years ago. Two other sisters of the duo have represented Gujarat at national-level tournaments. Collectively, the four Vala sisters have won 7 gold, 7 silver, 12 bronze and 24 national awards.
If Phogat sisters have left their mark on women's wrestling in India, the Vala sisters of Sarkhadi (a village of 4,000 people) fought against all odds, broke gender stereotypes and made their village, district and Gujarat proud with their achievements.This is not all. Today the village boasts of a center of excellence for women's volleyball as it has sent over 100 players to national and international tournaments.
The village elders remember that active participation of women in volleyball started in the early '80s but it was the local government school's patronage from 1988 that made all the difference. Under the watchful eyes of volleyball coach, Varjang Vala, one girl after another started breaking stereotypes.
Coach Vala recalls that the biggest problem initially was to convince parents to send the girls to tournaments outside the district or the state. “A number of conservative families even had objections to the shorts worn for the game. Being an agrarian society, most people did not even have proper shoes. But when the girls started winning in championships, the attitude changed,“ Varjang Vala said.
Chetna got a hero's welcome at the village after her and the team's performance at the games that concluded on June 21. A second-year college student, she wants to represent India at every future opportunity.
“It's all thanks to the culture of volleyball that we ha ve developed here. I have seen and played with my sister Kinjal and learnt a lot. Credit also goes to my father who did his best to give wings to our dreams,“ she said.
While Chetna and Kinjal are now doing M.Phil in physical education and aspiring to be a coach, are active players, their sisters, Shobhna and Varsha, had represented Gujarat. Meramansinh Vala, their father, is a farmer owning 3 bighas of land but has never said no to the girls' demands for sports equipment.
Today about 100 girls from across the state come to Sarakhdi for coaching and to become the next star. Varjang Vala says that there is a longpending demand for an indoor facility.
“There are many for whom there is no expert coach who can propel the girls to international arena. There is also a requirement for hostel facilities,“ the coach said.