<p>The Indian men’s frisbee team is all set to participate in the World Ultimate and Guts Championship. The participation of a few players, however, now depends on crowd funding. <br /><br />It is for the first time that a men’s team from India would represent the country in the championship. The 23-member team is looking at volunteers to help raise Rs 3 lakh to fund five players. Should they be able to raise the amount, they would fly to London on Friday or Saturday. <br /><br />Abhishek Srinivasan from Bengaluru, a team member, told Deccan Herald that players have dedicated a year of their life to the sport and it would be unfair to leave anyone only for the reason that they cannot afford it. <br /><br />Speaking passionately about how the team came together, Srinivasan explained that these players were picked from across the country solely based on merit. “We have people from all walks of life. Some are entrepreneurs, some work with private firms and a few others come from humble backgrounds,” he added. <br /><br />The team of 23 members will see seven from Bengaluru. Take for instance, the case of Chetan Srikanth. Having lost his father at a tender age, he runs a bakery along with his mother in Bannerghatta. It was during his pre-university days that this player picked up the sport to be now chosen for the national team by the Ultimate Players Association of India. <br /><br />He is not the only player who comes from a humble background. Ganesh Moorthi and Hariharan Kumar who hail from Chennai had their share of struggles in life as well. While Moorthi’s parents are fishermen, Kumar’s parents have cleaned the beaches in Chennai to make a living. <br /><br />Srivinasan explained that even in case of Maksood Chaudhary, it was not an easy task to climb up the ladder. “It was on the beaches of Mumbai that he found people play the sport and was drawn to it,” he said. <br /><br />Family could not afford<br /><br />Chaudhary initially dropped out of school as the family could not afford to educate him. “They moved to their hometown later where Chaudhary’s brother dropped out of school to ensure that his brother could study,” he said. <br /><br />Srinivasan explained that head coach of the team, Matthew Zemel who is also a frisbee player, took a break for six months just to coach the team. They are also being trained by Ashwini Chidambaram from Chennai who is the first ever female coach from India. </p>.<p><em>Those wishing to fund the team can visit https://www.ketto.org/thepride for more details. </em></p>
<p>The Indian men’s frisbee team is all set to participate in the World Ultimate and Guts Championship. The participation of a few players, however, now depends on crowd funding. <br /><br />It is for the first time that a men’s team from India would represent the country in the championship. The 23-member team is looking at volunteers to help raise Rs 3 lakh to fund five players. Should they be able to raise the amount, they would fly to London on Friday or Saturday. <br /><br />Abhishek Srinivasan from Bengaluru, a team member, told Deccan Herald that players have dedicated a year of their life to the sport and it would be unfair to leave anyone only for the reason that they cannot afford it. <br /><br />Speaking passionately about how the team came together, Srinivasan explained that these players were picked from across the country solely based on merit. “We have people from all walks of life. Some are entrepreneurs, some work with private firms and a few others come from humble backgrounds,” he added. <br /><br />The team of 23 members will see seven from Bengaluru. Take for instance, the case of Chetan Srikanth. Having lost his father at a tender age, he runs a bakery along with his mother in Bannerghatta. It was during his pre-university days that this player picked up the sport to be now chosen for the national team by the Ultimate Players Association of India. <br /><br />He is not the only player who comes from a humble background. Ganesh Moorthi and Hariharan Kumar who hail from Chennai had their share of struggles in life as well. While Moorthi’s parents are fishermen, Kumar’s parents have cleaned the beaches in Chennai to make a living. <br /><br />Srivinasan explained that even in case of Maksood Chaudhary, it was not an easy task to climb up the ladder. “It was on the beaches of Mumbai that he found people play the sport and was drawn to it,” he said. <br /><br />Family could not afford<br /><br />Chaudhary initially dropped out of school as the family could not afford to educate him. “They moved to their hometown later where Chaudhary’s brother dropped out of school to ensure that his brother could study,” he said. <br /><br />Srinivasan explained that head coach of the team, Matthew Zemel who is also a frisbee player, took a break for six months just to coach the team. They are also being trained by Ashwini Chidambaram from Chennai who is the first ever female coach from India. </p>.<p><em>Those wishing to fund the team can visit https://www.ketto.org/thepride for more details. </em></p>
