beckham

Roopa Unnikrishnan Writes

The Significance of Bend it like Beckham
A sports woman writes about her reactions to the immensely popular film by Gurinder Chadha

By Roopa Unnikrishnan

"My parents are Gods," was my first thought as the delightful movie came to a close.

I had just finished watching Bend it like Beckham and was struck by the steadfastness of the young heroine as well as the immense obstacles she faced. Jess, the heroine, is the younger daughter of a traditional Punjabi family in England that would rather she found a good boy to marry than to venture into the world of women's soccer, despite her passion for the sport. Happily, she triumphs over all her challenges to become a footballer.

I must say I had an easier time being a rifle-shooting teenager in Madras – largely because of a mother who deserves much of the credit for my skill (she won a shooting competition when she was seven months pregnant with me) and a father who ignored those who said "no one will marry a girl who shoots." My mother would take up shooting once again to keep me company as we traveled to some of India 's most colorful towns, including Munger in Bihar - not a place on the regular tourist map. My father would give up golf to make sure he could take me shooting and coach me as I started out.

Of course, it wasn't all roses. Outside of family and a very enlightened set of teachers and coaches, was the wider world. There was never any sponsorship available for a woman who shot, not even after she was regularly winning medals for her country. There was always the family "friend" around the corner trying to convince you that you had done enough and that it was now time to settle down and "be womanly." There were the architecture schools I applied to which wouldn't count shooting toward a sports scholarship.

For a sportswoman, the biggest struggle is to make sure that your achievements do not just get swept into the background as the local boys cricket match takes precedence over any world-level medals you bring in.

Today, I look at the papers and am glad to see that women's sports has taken its legitimate place in the India 's consciousness. I am happy to think that some of my, and my friends', hard work and outspokenness may have contributed to the increased access to shooting equipment and coaching.

Sometimes it's a dripping tap that dissolves a stone, and sometimes it is a crushing blow from a hammer. The heroic life and tragic death of Kalpana Chawla has been just such a blow. Both in the US and in India young Indian and South Asian girls have seen that there is more to life than the ordinary, the normal. As these young girls set their sights high, I hope that the media and popular discourse will help our community grow with them and help them spread their wings.

Last winter, I went back to my club in Chennai and watched four young women concentrating as they settled into shooting positions – I couldn't have been happier. One of them said, "I want to beat your record." "And so you should", I said.

It's still not going to be easy for that shooter. But there are paths for her to follow and there are images of Kalpana and Jess, that are now part of the public consciousness, to help her along.

Bio: Roopa Unnikrishnan, who has been shooting since 13, has won multiple international medals for India in Rifle Shooting. For her achievements she was awarded the Arjuna Award by the President of India. She is also a Rhodes Scholar and was captain of the Oxford University shooting team. Roopa is a management consultant in New York City and board member of Sakhi for South Asian Women.