Chandigarh memories inspired mom of nine-year-old to lead Australia in Kho Kho

New Delhi: Sonam Garg used to play Kho Kho during her school days in Chandigarh but the mother of a nine-year-old never thought in her wildest imagination that she would lead Australia, her country of residence for 10 years, at the World Cup, currently underway here.

"I was born and brought up in Chandigarh and moved to Australia 10 years back after marriage. I used to play in India during my school days but that was 20 -22 years," Sonam told PTI Bhasha.

"So when I heard about the Kho Kho World Cup, I got really excited as it took me back to my childhood memories. I contacted the Kho Kho committee (in Australia) and joined the team. Soon, I became captain of the side," said the 30-year-old finance professional.

Sonam's first challenge was to strike a balance between her family, job and sport.

"I have one nine-year-old son and it was hard to strike a balance between a full-time job, house and hobby. It was not easy but I did it with the help of my supportive husband and son.

"Sometimes I used to take my son to the ground because there was no one to look after him at home. He used to sit at the ground, sometimes run with us and then read his books," said Sonam.

Sonam has taken leave from work to compete in the World Cup while her husband tends to the child.

"My school-going son is having six weeks of summer vacation and my husband, who is working from home, takes care of him," she said.

Although Sonam's son is an avid cricket fan, he has started enjoying Kho Kho. He literally cried when the Australian women's team lost the first match against England.

"I always do a video call with my husband and son after every match. My son cried when we lost our first match to England. I consoled him and said that it is our first outing and we are here to participate and enjoy the game," she said.

Sonam said that in a sports-loving and multi-cultural country like Australia it was not difficult to build a team from scratch even for lesser-known sport.

"We in Australia came to know about the Kho Kho World Cup only 2-3 months back. The natives don't even know the meaning of the word 'Kho Kho', but they are loving it. I am sure it will have a good future in Australia," said Sonam.

"It was not difficult to prepare for the World Cup as Australia is a sporting nation and we are fit, agile and speedy. That's what is required for Kho Kho. We had the fitness and skills and it was just the tactics, techniques and rules that the players needed to understand," she said.

"Our team has players from different backgrounds. We have Indians, Irish and Europeans in the side. We have a player from the Philippines as well. It is a very diverse team." Sonam said she had mixed feelings when the Indian men's cricket team lost the Border-Gavaskar Test series to Australia recently.

"I had mixed feelings, as my roots are in India. My parents still live in Chandigarh but here I am representing Australia and I love being the captain of the team," she said.

"Being an Indian-origin Australian, how can we not love cricket? My son loves the game and he supports India. I was there at the MCG for two days rooting for Australia.

"I think, India and Australia are the best competitors in cricket." Despite her support for the Australian cricket team, she is a big fan of Indian pace stalwart Jasprit Bumrah.

"My favourite Indian player is Jasprit Bumrah. He is calm and he has got the personality... the way he performed in the Test series was great."