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Visakhapatnam: Reshma eyes Pesapallo World Cup tourney
Says it’s a mind game and involves techniques, good amount of running, batting and strategies to predict opponent’s move.
Visakhapatnam: After bagging silver medal in Pesapallo National Championship 2018-19, K Reshma is now gearing up for Pesapallo World Cup Championship to be hosted in India for the first time. Learning the game since 2016, the Class X student of Key Stone English Medium School aims to bring glory to the nation by taking part in the international tournament.
In a span of a little over three years, Reshma participated in eight events and bagged two gold, four silver medals. "It was the most memorable moment for us when the team bagged gold medal in the South Asian Pesapallo Championship held in Nepal amidst stiff competition," recalls Reshma. She was the first girl to represent Andhra Pradesh in the international championship.
"Fitness plays a major role in the sport. It is a mind game and involves techniques, good amount of running, batting and strategies to predict opponent's move," the student says.
About juggling roles between a student and a sportsperson, Reshma says, "It all depends on efficient time management. My day starts at 5 am and concludes at 10 pm. My parents K Sankaramma, a homemaker, and K Ramana, a contract employee, not only support me to realise my dreams but also pull out all stops to meet the itinerary expenses for tournaments I head to."
Reshma's parents say that every time their daughter heads to a destination, they have to run on a shoestring budget. They hope that the government should provide support to the players, covering their travel expenses.
Apart from the school management that supports Reshma providing extra classes to cover the syllabus, Reshma says that her coach prepares her well for each event.
Though the sport has been included in the International Olympic Committee, it does not form a part of the Indian Olympic Association. "However, efforts are being made to include Pesapallo, also known as Finnish Baseball, in the School Federation of India soon. The game is more popular in Finland, Australia and the US. However, it is slowly picking in India. In Visakhapatnam, the craze for the game is steadily increasing as many are evincing interest in playing Pesapallo," explains Ch Nageswara Rao, secretary of Visakhapatnam District Pesapallo Association and Reshma's coach.
Next, Reshma is preparing for World Cup selections to be held in Finland.
