Aussie rules, Indian style

Sudip Chakraborty of the Indian Tigers team lives and breathes AFL

As a soccer and cricket player, Sudip Chakraborty was invited in his native Kolkata to a 2008 IPL Kolkata Knight Riders event. Aussie cricketer Ricky Ponting was there, and some of the invitees were asked to try out for a ‘new’ sport called Australian Rules Football.

“It was the first time I had

A team called the Indian Tigers was formed, but the organisers couldn’t sustain the momentum.

“Another player and I wrote to the AFL seeking help to keep it another Australian in Mumbai Lincoln Harris, showed some support. Some interest trickled

Despite stops and starts, they got a team together for the 2011 AFL International Cup played in Sydney and Melbourne. Help was sought from local Indian Australians to make up a full team. They tasted their first victory,

“It is the fastest outdoor sport in the world, and watching a game at the MCG, with one lakh supporters in the crowd, will surely make you fall in love with it”.

When he went to London to do a masters degree in sports management, his research topic was: How to develop the AFL in Europe.

He also played the sport there, and even refereed, to see how the game has evolved outside of Australia and to see what would fit under Indian conditions.

“AFL means everything to me now,” Sudip tells Indian Link, speaking from Goa where he is planning a national level tournament for November this year. Last year in December, the contest was organised in Kerala, and managed to make the news here in Australia.

As Secretary General of the Australian Rules Football Association in India, Sudip is fulltime in his efforts to develop the game in India.

“We’ve recently bagged the Victorian Government as a sponsor of our tournament in Goa,” Sudip reveals. “Steve Waugh and Brett Lee have also been roped in, and a big impetus has been to have both Julia Gillard and Kevin Rudd follow me on Twitter”.

Is there any one out there who can help out?

Rajni Anand Luthra