'Bangladesh is like an aunt to us'
The story of roll ball is one of how one man's ingenuity, dedication, hard work and humility can take his passion to the highest level of sport or any pursuit for that matter. The man behind this sport, 52-year-old Raju Dabhade from Maharashtra, a physical instructor at a Pune school by profession, has spread this unique and modern sport to more than 50 countries within a matter of just 14 years. He has faced a lot of discouragement and hassle, but never lost faith in his vision. His life, too, has come such a long way since the days as a tea-seller and a paperboy that he has become sports icon of his nation. Yet the man remains down-to-earth, soft-spoken, self-effacing and is only dedicated to spreading the game further. Dabhade is currently in Dhaka, supervising the 4th Roll Ball World Cup as the general secretary of the International Roll Ball Federation. The Daily Star's Atique Anam caught up with him on Saturday to hear the fascinating stories behind roll ball and his life.
The Daily Star: It's quite fascinating that a game could combine three different sports and have its own distinctive identity and attractiveness. How did the concept come to you?
Raju Dabhade: While working as a physical training teacher in Pune's MES Bal Shiksha English Medium School in the early 2000s, I researched different sports -- basketball, hockey, football, table tennis, handball, roller skating etc -- and learned about their history, techniques and strategies. I started thinking of keeping the ball -- which is the common ingredient in many sports -- and make something new. Then an interesting incident happened as a stray basketball came to the roller skaters and it gave me an idea. I started preparing the groundwork and the rules and came up with the game in early 2003.
TDS: How far has the game come in the last 14 years?
RD: Now there are 85 thousand students playing this sport and it is being played in more than 50 countries. We have conducted nine international competitions and four world cups now.
TDS: It must have been a lot of hard work and even investment from your own pocket.
RD: You have to do that initially if you want to succeed and reach your goal in anything. It wasn't easy in the early days. When I first came to Bangladesh in 2005, I had to take a general passenger ticket in a train from Maharashtra to Kolkata and then a bus to Dhaka. Those were early days for the game and times of struggle for me. But I have been here three times since and I'm glad that we could bring the world cup to Bangladesh.
TDS: What made the IRBF choose Bangladesh as the host of the world cup?
RD: India has great relations with Bangladesh. India is our mother and Bangladesh is our mother's sister. Bangladesh is like a mother's sister to us. So it was our responsibility to help each other out. Bangladesh's government and federation were ready. So why not?
TDS: But it must have been quite expensive to spread the game to other continents.
RD: Not really. I started sending video packages and materials to former students of my school who went abroad to work. And they distributed that stuff to local sports clubs and skating clubs. They take up the game and then we go there and arrange workshops and demonstrations to institutionalise it. Right now I don't have to spend a penny from my pocket.
TDS: What is IRBF doing to spread the game further and make it part of multisport events?
RD: We have had fruitful talks with the Nepal government about including roll ball in the 2017 South Asian Games. And we have already held talks three times with the International Olympic Committee at its headquarters in Lausanne about being recognised as a sport as part of the Olympic movement.
TDS: You had a very humble beginning. Your father died at an early age and you had to do a lot of odd jobs. But now you have a state award and are revered by many. So how much has your life transformed?
RD: My family members are farmers and there were no educated people in the family. There wasn't even electricity in my village in Maharashtra earlier. But I came to Pune and completed my graduation, all the while being involved with different sports. I still do my job as a physical instructor at that school, apart from the work with the Indian federation and IRBF and other bodies of the game. So my life hasn't changed. But I just feel grateful that the game is spreading and people are getting more and more interested in the game.
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