The first ever Australian Football team from Telangana state

Telangana became the 9^th state to officially join the AFL India family with the Telangana state team (seniors) participating at the ARFAI National Championships 2019 in Kolkata, West Bengal.

However, the seed was planted in 2017 when Nagarjuna Vajrala (Nag), an Indian origin Australian living in Melbourne connected with the AFL India team on tour to Australia for AFL International Cup 2017. Nag travelled back to his home state Andhra Pradesh in India in 2018, which was divided into two states Telangana & Andhra Pradesh recently and took it upon himself to launch his favourite sport in the two states. Nag had originally been dreaming to take Australia Football to India before he connected with AFL India and found out that the sport had started making inroads in the country already. Nag credits a massive amount of support to his wife Alekhya Annapureddy who has provided constant motivation and support in the process.

Nagarjuna Vajrala (middle) with the Telangana team and officials

Alongside Nag, AFL India had also been contacted by a very passionate Shridhar Babu from Hyderabad, who had worked for development of multiple sports in the region and wanted to take on the responsibility to develop the exciting new sport in India.

Hence the ball started “bouncing” in Hyderabad, Telangana once Nag and Shridhar connected and the first team representing Telangana in Australian Football participated at the National Championship in January 2019.

The debutant team playing their first few Footy matches ever made a decent start to their journey and picked up some key learning / coaching during the tournament. The state team led by Shridhar Babu went back and started implementing the learning and realised the growth of the fast-paced game across the state of Telangana. In four months’ time, the game had spread to four new districts of the state outside Hyderabad to – Rangareddy, Warrangal, Mahabubnagar and Medchal.

Awards ceremony at the inaugural state Footy championship in Telangana

On 5^th May 2019, the first ever tournament of Australian Rules Football was organised in the state of Telangana at Pallavi Model School in Boduppal, organised by Medchal District Footy Association. The Grand Final of the tournament was played between Hyderabad Hawks and Rangareddy Demons district teams and Rangareddy district team emerged as the inaugural champions of the Telangana state championship of Australian Football.

In the following months post the state championship, development work has continued to grow the sport and have junior participants join in and have also rolled out the national junior development program IndiKick in the state, constantly guided by Nagarjuna Vajrala and other ARFAI officials.

Nag, Alekhya, Shridhar and everyone else involved with development of Footy in Telangana looks forward to support from the Telugu community in Australia who love the sport and would like to join in the journey of developing the sport back in their home country. Telangana Footy Association is also looking forward to expand the sport in the state and provide more opportunities for players in the state.

The Bengal Tigers Sr & Jr teams with their trophies along with the Australian delegates

The seventh annual National Championship of Australian Rules Football in India, organised by Australian Rules Football Association of India (ARFAI / AFL India) between 4^th to 6^th January 2019 resulted in the West Bengal Tigers winning the senior grand final in style by defeating the defending champions – the Jharkhand Crows, by 09-06-60 to 01-02-08. The junior division saw a successful title defence once again by the Jharkhand Crows. Junior Crows won against the Bengal Tigers by 05-02-32 to 02-01-13. The Jharkhand Crows (Jr) domination over the National Championship continued – five time champions in a row!!

ARFAI National Championship 2019 was organised at the Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan School ground in Salt Lake, West Bengal, one of India’s oldest and biggest educational trusts. Each year, the tournament witnesses an increase in the level of competition, interest and development of the sport. The organising committee was responsible for the planning of the smooth running across the three-day carnival that involved participation of the best Footy players from across India.

A crucial touch-point for the tournament’s success is the strong support displayed by the Australian delegation that flies over every year from Victoria to help organise the National Championship’19. The delegation included Paul Byrne – reputed accountant from Bendigo, Bruce Claridge – AFL Chaplain from Bendigo and Bruce’s granddaughter Azhia Claridge – rising soccer star playing for South Melbourne FC among others.

Jharkhand Crows Vs Telangana Saints

Added to the group above, ARFAI had the privilege to host Xavier Moloney, AFL’s Head of Diversity who had flown over from Melbourne and helped identify talent and the individual award winners at the tournament. “Fantastic to be here finally and very much enjoyed it and fantastic to see the great participation and some really good competitive football” Xavier said.

ARFAI also had AFL Community Ambassador and Berwick North FC committee member Nagarjuna Vajrala travel over from Narre Warren, Victoria to support the Telangana Saints making their debut and to get a feel of the development of Australian Football in India. Mr. Nagarjuna had travelled over to India earlier in 2018 to help start Footy in his native part of India – Telangana and Andhra Pradesh and guided the local leaders through the process. While Telangana made its debut in their first year itself, Andhra Pradesh Footy Association was represented by their Secretary General Jayaram Kadiyam who participated in the official workshops organised on the 4^th January and looks forward to Andhra Magpies making debut in the national championship in 2020.

A testament to the success of Footy in India is that almost every year, there is a debutant state in the National Championship.  A senior division debut was made by the Telangana state team – Telangana Saints alongside Jharkhand Crows, Bengal Tigers, Maharashtra Giants, Kerala Bombers, Rajasthan Eagles, Odisha Swans and Bihar Bulldogs. All though the Saints failed to register a win, their efforts were loved and appreciated by all.

Kerala Bombers Vs Rajasthan Eagles

A major highlight for ARFAI is the increasing media attention being received by the tournament every year. Before the tournament started this year, a press conference was held at the Calcutta Sports Journalists’ Club and the tournament was covered by multiple media houses across India including the national channel of India DD News along with The Telegraph as the official media partner for 4 years in a row. AFL India has been able to achieve these milestones due to the constant efforts made by all the support staff and the backing of the community development partners.

The Bengal Tigers juniors put on a valiant effort in the Grand Final to face arch nemesis Jharkhand Crows. The Jharkhand boys led by their captain Sachin Kachhap and coached by Ravi Samuel Minj emerged victorious for a mind blowing fifth time in a row.

The Senior Division Grand Final saw these two powerhouses of Indian footy facing off each other again. The Tigers led by captain Sudip Rajbanshi and coached by former Indian team player Biswajit Das capitalised on all their chances and emerged victorious by thumping the Crows.

Like every year, ARFAI handed out numerous prizes for the players and officials after the tournament. The prizes were handed over by Xavier Moloney from AFL, Mr. G.V. Subramanian – Director for Eastern India – Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, Melissa Wicks from the Australian High Commission in India and Mr. Dhruba Mukherjee – Vice President, The Telegraph. The following participants were recognised and rewarded for their individual excellence along with 25 players each who made it to the All Stars teams in both junior and senior divisions –

Player of the Tournament – Banshi Nayak, Jharkhand Crows (Jr) & Sudip Rajbanshi, Bengal Tigers (Sr)

Best Goal – Abhishek Dhanapandian, Tamil Kangaroos (Jr) & Abu Bakir, Bengal Tigers (Sr)

Best Mark – Senthil Kumar, Tamil Kangaroos (Jr) & Wilson Nadar, Maharashtra Giants (Sr)

Best Defender – Sachin Kachhap, Jharkhand Crows (Jr) & Arun Rai, Bihar Bulldogs (Sr)

Best Development – Footy Association of Odisha (FAO) – development in 10 districts of the state

Best Official – Amit Roy, Umpire from West Bengal

Sudip Rajbanshi – Player of the Tournament (Sr) receiving his award from Xavier Moloney from AFL

ARFAI would like to thank all the sponsors who made the tournament a success including Essendon Football Club, Victorian Government, SRK Transport, Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, Hume Bombers FC, Peregrine Accountants, Digitory Labs and Golden Square FNC along with the AFL, North Melbourne FC, Western Bulldogs FC, St. Kilda Saints FC, Richmond FC, Sydney Swans FC and Adelaide FC for their support for the tournament.

The victorious Jharkhand Crows Senior team with Chief Guest Mr. G.V. Subramanium – Director of Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan Kolkata and ARFAI Secretary General Sudip Chakraborty

The sixth edition of the annual national Championship of Australian Rules Football in India, organised by Australian Rules Football Association of India (ARFAI) was once again won by the Jharkhand Crows in style in both the senior and junior divisions. While the Crows seniors won their second national title in a row by defeating the four time premiers Bengal Tigers 6-5-41 to 3-2-20, the Crows juniors won their fourth consecutive national trophy over their arch rivals Bengal Tigers 4-3-27 to 3-5-23 after a nail biting finish.

ARFAI National Championship 2018 was organised at the Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan School ground in Salt Lake, West Bengal, thanks to the long term sponsor and supporter Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan – one of India’s oldest and biggest educational trusts. The tournament saw itself improve like every year with an organising committee working from days in advance to run a smooth and exciting three days for the best Footy players from across the country. The committee was strongly supported by the visiting delegation from Bendigo, Australia, including the Bendigo Umpires’Association (BUA) umpires Dale Caldwell, Mark Snell, Matthew Vitiritti and the BUA vice chairman Paula Shay.

A Bengal Tigers (Jr) Vs Odisha Swans (Jr) match in action

The tournament saw a new state team making their debut in the senior division – the Bihar Bulldogs along with the Jhrakhand Crows, Bengal Tigers, Maharashtra Giants, Kerala Bombers, Rajasthan Eagles and Odisha Swans.

Day one saw increased number of league matches this year for every state team to get more chances to compete, with the Maharashtra Giants impressing everyone with their fresh new team with brilliant and improved skills on display, probably the best the Giants have put up in the nationals so far. The Bulldogs on the other hand impressed everyone with their approach and fitness on their debut, although they might need to get their basic skills better before their next appearance.

Maharashtra Giants (Jr) Vs Tamil Nadu Kangaroos (Jr) match under way

While all the teams impressed the spectators over the weekend, a big highlight for ARFAI was getting covered by the national television of India – Doordarshan (DD News & DD Bangla), which potentially exposed the sport to millions of viewers across the country.

Day two saw qualifying rounds for Grand Finals being played for the first time at the nationals adapting to the new schedule for the tournament this year making the competition more interesting. Both Jharkhand Crows and Bengal Tigers emerged victorious in the qualifying rounds to face each other in the Grand Finals for both junior and senior divisions.

The Bengal Tigers juniors returned to play in the Grand Final after a gap last year to face arch rivals Jharkhand Crows and what a closely contested match it was. After a nail biting finish the Jharkhand boys led by Captain Sachin Kachhap emerged victorious four times in a row to break into their traditional tribal dance from Jharkhand.

Jharkhand Crows (Sr) Captain Mahesh Tirkey in action against Bihar Bulldogs

The Senior division Grand Final saw the same two teams once again locking horns to clinch the ultimate title. The Crows were dominant from the start with parts of the game going in favour of the Tigers. With Crows winning the game quite convincingly in the end, it was time for some jubilant celebrations in true Jharkhand style with their local music and dance setting the final mood of the tournament to a very happy one for all present. The Australian delegates and officials wasted to time to either join in the group dance or to record the memories on their cameras.

AFL Chaplain Bruce Claridge the man who has been leading the support team from Bendigo, Victoria, every year to India thought “NC18 showcased the passion and ever growing skills of all states represented. The Jharkhand Crows (Sr) under the inspirational leadership of Mahesh Tirkey once again demonstrated their superiority by developing a cohesive flow in their game not seen in other teams. Constructive handpassing was a feature of their game. All teams showed a marked improvement in all areas of the game when compared to other years”.

ARFAI acknowledges the brilliant support of our sponsors for the event, including Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, Essendon Football Club, The Golden Square Football & Netball Club, Bendigo Umpires Association (BUA) The Telegraph – t2 and of course Essendon Football Club and the AFL Victoria who helped make this tournament successful.

Mr. G.V. Subramanian (standing middle) unveiling the Indian team jersey for 2017

Dr. G.V Subramanian, Director of Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan Kolkata Kendra, unveiled the new jersey of the Indian team of Australian Football at the Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan campus in Salt Lake, where the Indian team was training as a part of their inaugural national camp last week.

The relation between the sport of Australian Rules Football in India and Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan goes back to the early days of the sport in 2008 when the school’s branch in Kolkata hosted the first official exhibition match of the sport in India (April 2008), with AFL coach Yuta Kobayashi in attendance from Australia.

The big news came in a few months after that as the match which was facilitated by the school Games Captain and Sports Coordinator Sudip Chakraborty and Ayush Gupta respectively, both got selected in the very first Indian team of the sport that represented India at the AFL International Cup 2008 in Melbourne, Australia (August 2008).

As the two fresh alumnus of Bhavan’s Kolkata embarked upon their journey to represent India, President of Bhavan’s Australia Mr. Gambhir Watts stepped in to support the Indian team. Mr. Watts who was proud of the achievement of his students, sponsored the accommodation of the Indian team while they were in Australia.

2011

The relation grew stronger in 2011, when the HOD Physical Education of Bhavan’s Kolkata, Mr. Ashim Dawn, who had helped organize the exhibition game in 2008 at his school, stepped on board as an assistant coach of the Indian Footy team participating at the AFL International Cup 2011. Bhavan’s Australia stepped in to support the Indian team with their accommodation in Australia once again.

Mr. Watts with the Indian team in 2011 at a dinner hosted by Bhavan’s Australia

First half of the International Cup in 2011 was held in Sydney where Bhavan’s Australia and Mr. Watts is based. Hence this was a great opportunity for both the alumni Sudip and Ayush, along with Mr. Dawn to visit the Bhavan’s Australia office in Sydney and this also meant Mr. Watts took great personal care of the team and hosted them for multiple dinners while they were in Sydney.

2014

In 2014, the relation grew stronger with Mr. G. V. Subramanium readily accepting the proposal from Australian Rules Football Association of India (ARFAI) to oraganise the first West Bengal state level tournament at the school ground. The tournament was a big success with the Australia Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) India correspondent covering the tournament for a story on AFL in India.

http://www.abc.net.au/7.30/aussie-rules-takes-off-in-cricket-mad-india/5570572

The Indian team then headed to Australia in August 2014 and yet again, Mr. Gambhir Watts stepped in to sponsor the accommodation of the team.

The relationship between AFL India and Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan went a step further this year with AFL India running a pilot porgramme to introduce Footy in the state of Chattisgarh, hosted and supported by Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan Raipur and their sports loving Principal Mr. Amitava Ghosh. AFL India coaches took the students of the school through the basics of Australian Football who were surely hooked on to the sport at the end of the three day programme.

A student of Bhavan’s Raipur playing Footy

2014 ended on a high with AFL’s International Coordinator from Melbourne Peter Romaniw visiting Kolkata for a conducting coaches and umpires training programme and once again Bhavan’s Kolkata made its football ground and conference room available for hosting the same.

Post 2014

The following years saw Mr. G. V. Subramanian extending full support for the work that was being done by AFL India led by the school’s alumni Sudip Chakraborty. The Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan school ground has essentially become AFL India’s home ground where the state/national players have training sessions/practice matches whenever required.

Quite notably, the school in Kolkata hosted the biggest legend of the sport – Mr. Kevin Sheedy in January 2017, who toured India with Essendon Football Club officials from Melbourne, Australia, to conduct a super-coaching workshop with the best 200 players from across India, who then participated at the annual national championship of the sport in Howrah, West Bengal. The school also made its newly built auditorium available for the umpiring workshop and interactive sessions with Kevin Sheedy and other Australian experts.

And very recently, while the Indian team of Australian Football was going through their national camp at the Bhavan’s Kolkata in July 2017, Mr. G.V. Subramanian unveiled the Indian team jersey to be worn by the team at the historic first ever international match of the sport in India between India and Australia, organized in rural West Bengal’s West Medinipore District. The jersey of course had the Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan logo printed at the back as the team’s main sponsor.

The match, which was organized in Ghatal, West Midnapore, also hosted the Australian High Commissioner to India Ms. Harinder Sidhu, who was made aware of the support provided by Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan over the years.

The Indian Footy map expanded to its new eighth state of Bihar in north-eastern India this month adding to the count for Australian Rules Football Association of India (ARFAI) in its effort to make Footy a nationally recognised sport in India.

The new Footy players of Bihar

ARFAI Football Development Manager (FDM) Mahesh Tirkey led a three day camp in Bhabhua district of Bihar ably assisted by ARFAI Game Development Officers (GDOs) Asheet Kujur, Arun Rai and Narendra Chowdhary with more than 150 participants over the three days who got hooked on to the new sport.

Some of the players had some idea about the sport previously while most others were fascinated about the new sport with funny skills required to play.

Locals watch on as Footy is played in Bihar for the first time

The best part that encouraged the ARFAI officials was the interest from local sports lovers as there was no lack of onlookers as the locals parked their bicycles to enjoy a new and different sport being played with a weird shaped ball right in their own village.

The local footy leaders in Bihar now are training hard to get a team together to represent Bihar for the first time in the annual ARFAI National Championship 2018.

#BiharBulldogs

Indian Team player Maidul Ali in action during the game

The Essendon Indian team were marginally edged by the team representing Pakistan at the AFL International Cup 2017, once again a squad dominated by players from Australia of Pakistani origin.

The match took place at the Golden Square Football Club in Bendigo in very cold and windy conditions. The match was organised as part of the AFL International Cup’s ‘Community Round’, and also a result of the footy fans from Bendigo embracing India and Indian Footy players for over the last couple of years – a journey which was started by AFL and Golden Square FC Chaplain Bruce Claridge.

The match started with Pakistan taking the lead but India came back strongly. The match was intense and highly competitive as both teams were desperate to better the other. It was a see-saw battle till the last minute as the game swung both ways a number of times. Pakistan won it 4-6-30 to 3-3-21 with Abhi Kalia, Abdul Ashraf and Amar Bara scoring the three goals for India.

The Indian team put in their best throughout the match with a number of its key players out injured including the Captain Sudip Chakraborty and ace defender Pachamuthu Selvam. It was a match that could have gone either way but unfortunately for India, it went to Pakistan. There was a festive atmosphere as both teams had huge support.

There was a big turnout at Golden Sq. FC as a lot of the local Australians also showed up to witness the mega clash and cheer for both the teams. This match definitely lived up to its expectation for the Community Round.

During AFL International Cup 2014, the Pakistan Shaheens team had dominated the Indian team completely as the entire squad comprised of Pakistanis brought up in Australia, but this time that was not the case as they had to play the few Pakistani players who had flown in from their country (AFL Pakistan) for the first time (as the team was unable to secure enough visas for their players) and the AFL had to revise the rules of the tournament to accommodate more Australia based players in the squad to let them have a full bench . The Indian boys were obviously disappointed but they were also motivated to perform even better in the next game on Tuesday against Indonesia.

A big shout out to Golden Square Football and Netball Club (GSFNC) for hosting the Indian team and being our pillar of support for the growth of Footy in India. Special thanks to Brendan Stewart, President of GSFNC who led the show and organised a fabulous atmosphere for international footy and also hosted a dinner for both the teams in the club rooms.

Thanks to our sponsors Essendon Football Club, Air India, UEC and individual supporters like Mr. Avtar Singh from Craigieburn in Melbourne,  who have helped the team Indian team to come out to Australia and put up a show. And special thanks once again to everyone from Bendigo who helped the Indian team before and during the AFL International Cup 2017.

Captains of the Indian and Pakistani teams

Arch rivals India and Pakistan take their rivalry to another level as the two sides clash in the sport of AFL in Bendigo tonight. The division 2 clash is an opportunity for both teams to open their accounts at the tournament, having both lost their previous two matches against a strong German side, and a rapid Japanese side. The contest is likely to be very even, with no clear favourite heading into the match. A cold night is expected, and with rain as a possible factor, the contest is likely to be a tight affair.

Having played two games in the IC17, India are starting to find some form heading into the must win clash. The Indian players were given a really useful light training session earlier in the day by their coach Yasser Hussain, and will look to implement some new aspects to their team performance. Input from Rick Shrowder, Talent Manager at the Norwood Football Club in South Australia, who has also coached the Indian team in IC14 is also likely to boost the Indian overall performance.

Indian Vice Captain Mahesh Tirkey in action against Japan

India is likely to be bolstered by the return of their captain, Sudip Chakraborty. Not only will his leadership on the field be a real boost, but his strong leading presence is going to test the Pakistan defence. The Indian team is also looking upto its Vice Captain Mahesh Tirkey to kick some goals early. If India can consistently deliver the ball to the vice-captain efficiently, Mahesh has the potential to be a real x-factor in this match-up.

The game hosted by Golden Square Football Club from 7:30pm tonight is poised as a real opportunity for either side to claim a big win under lights, and ultimately, bragging rights in the long lasting rivalry between the two countries. Expect the rain and wind to ensure a low scoring and scrappy contest, which will allow the smaller Indian players are likely to thrive. The contest is bound to be fierce, with the loser of this one resigned to bottom spot in the pool.

However it will be international footy that will be the winner at the end of the game with a big crowd expected from the footy enthusiast population of Bendigo and the event being promoted by Loddon Campaspe Multicultural Services Inc (LCMS), led by AFL Multicultural Ambassador Abhishek Awasthi.

Thanks to our sponsors Essendon Football Club, Air India, UEC and individual supporters like Mr. Avtar Singh from Craigieburn in Melbourne,  who have helped the team Indian team to come out to Australia and put up a show. And special thanks once again to everyone from Bendigo who helped the Indian team in the lead up to the AFL International Cup 2017.