They are senior players and potential players of Nepal’s National Netball team which was formed in 2012 after the sport was introduced in Nepal in 2011 by Deepak Lama, the current General Secretary of the Nepal Netball Association (NNA). [break]
This newly introduced game is a question mark to many in Nepal, who haven’t been exposed to the game which is an internationally played ball sport that started in the UK and is mostly popular in Commonwealth nations. However, this sport has already won the hearts of the few players, some of whom are determined to give their everything to the development of netball in Nepal.
“I was about to leave for Australia to complete my further studies, but then I got introduced to netball. I don’t know what happened but I wanted to stay back after that,” says 21-year-old Holisha Pradhan, who hasn’t been officially declared as the current ‘Captain’ but is already leading the team.
The National Netball players of Nepal with team coach (R) and team manager (L) at the Asian Youth U-21 Netball Championship in Brunei, during June-July 2013.
“The first time, I didn’t like the game at all. I was asked to try the game out by my basketball coach. But, once I started playing and watching netball games on YouTube, I began to get more interested,” says Pradhan, adding, “Now, I’m into this full-on and I know that I’ll be helping and contributing to netball in Nepal.”
Mainly a women’s game, netball is derived from the earlier versions of basketball and the Nepali Head Coach of the National netball team, Prakhyat Dom, will tell you that although it looks similar to basketball, once you understand both the games well, you will see that they are totally different.
“From the outside it looks like basketball because there are shooting poles. However, when you go to the depths, netball and basketball will appear to be totally different. To begin with, contact is allowed in basketball and so is dribbling. Anyone can shoot and score in a game of basketball. In netball, however, contact is considered to be foul and dribbling is not allowed,” informs Coach Dom.
A netball team has 12 members while each playing set consists of seven players. There are different positions and responsibilities appointed to those various positions. The game outcome is measured in goals, the number of times a team is successful in shooting the ball through the net hoop.
“Because it is mostly played by women, one might assume that it’s an easy ‘ladies’ game’, but the truth is that it is very difficult. The game has several specific rules and regulations. There’s a lot of rush and need for stamina. Each game is an hour long and consists four 15-minute quarters,” explains Dom.
In its early phases, the NNA’s current focus is getting the word out about the game. “Right now, we are pushing to promote this sport and taking the help of schools as a base for that. We’re working to include netball in the sports curriculum at schools starting from the next academic year,” says Dom.
Although there has been no national-level netball championship, the Nepali netball team has already gained some international exposure. The team has travelled to Sri Lanka for Asian Netball Championship held in August 2012 and to Brunei for the Asian Youth U-21 Netball Championship. While the performance, when measured in the number of wins against other national teams, might not sound impressive, (during the Asian Netball Championship, Nepal stood 9th out of 10 teams and during the Asian Youth U-21 Netball Championship, Nepal secured 6th position out of 10 teams) only the players, the coaches and mentors can tell you about their victories in terms of how they’ve worked around multiple challenges to put netball in Nepal, to where it is today in such a short span of time.
Height of players is a major disadvantage for the Nepali team. “One of the Sri Lankan players we played against was 6.10 feet tall!” recalls Pradhan. Other than that, Pradhan shares that unlike in other countries, the scope of netball in Nepal can be seen as struggling. From challenges in finding sponsors to working with infrastructural lacks such not having a proper court to practice on, Pradhan feels the National team has gone through its share of hurdles.
“There was this one time in Rangashala, where we had to literally drag and move huge mattresses and kick-bags used for Taekwondo, off the court before we could even practice,” shares Pradhan. “Comparing those situations, I feel the new comers are very lucky,” she adds.
Netball in Nepal is slowly taking baby steps, and to begin with, the established team is introducing the game to potential players, collecting interested girls and inviting them for introductory training sessions.
“I got attracted by the word ‘fitness’,” says Sujita Manandhar, 20, who heard about the sessions through Facebook and thought of learning the sport as a way to be physically fit as well as to compensate for her school days when she was unable to play sports because she had a very low immunity and would fall ill often. Manandhar is a pharmacy student and it’s hard for her to manage her time, but still, her interest in the game brings her to the training sessions, six days a week from 4 pm to 6 pm.
“Internationally, netball is a very privileged game, but in Nepal, it hasn’t been able to live up to the international charm or flourish properly,” says Manandhar. “When I tell my friends that I’m playing netball, they ask me ‘What’s that?’. But I’m trying my best to make netball known in my own circle, be it by updating statuses about it on Facebook or talking to my sisters and cousins about it,” she adds.
What’s remarkable about the Nepali team is their team spirit itself: the fact that not just senior players like Pradhan but new entrants like Manandhar are also working towards promoting the sport on their home grounds.
“It’s us who have to take it forward,” says Samiksha Neupane, 20, who had also served as the Vice Captain for the team in Sri Lanka. And although she doesn’t think that in a country like Nepal, one can really make a career out of playing netball, she’s interested in helping it grow. “Gradually, it will,” hopes Samiksha.
Her teammate and one of the senior netball players, Zannat Shrestha, 20, also shares the same hope that netball will get popular in Nepal. “Not just in Facebook but also from word of mouth, wherever we go, we are telling people about netball. Especially if we’re talking to a girl about it, we encourage her to come try netball out,” she says.
There are prospects, but there are challenges as well. With the dedication and the passion that the Nepali netball team is showing and the hard work they are putting in, victory over hurdles here at home or over opposing teams at international stadiums, is not very far-fetched.
Go girls, bring the trophy home!