On the dusty courts of Kalathimadam, a remote village in Tamil Nadu's Tenkasi district, a quiet sporting revolution is reshaping what 25 girls — all daughters of beedi rollers — believe about themselves. The Elampuyal Kabaddi Team has, in five years, swept more than 100 trophies across Tamil Nadu and produced national-level selectees, and the man behind it works as a two-wheeler mechanic in his day job.
The team's emergence was confirmed in spectacular fashion at a recent state-level senior championship in Kanniyakumari, organised by the Tamil Nadu Amateur Kabaddi Federation. When the seven playing members of the Tenkasi squad — most of them under-14 sub-juniors — stepped onto the court alongside teams of college-going women, the organisers initially asked them to leave.
"Most of the Tenkasi players were under-14 sub-juniors, while senior teams featured college-going women across the state," organisers told the team's coach G Soundrapandi, asking them to "have dinner and return home." Securing entry cost the team at least an hour of discussions. They were eventually allowed to play the Mayiladuthurai senior side. The Tenkasi girls seized the upper hand from the first minute, beat Mayiladuthurai by a huge margin, and went on to defeat four more district teams before finishing third overall.
For Soundrapandi, 44, that result was business as usual. "Like everyone else, the COVID-19 pandemic, though disastrous, gave me time and clarity," he said. "My wife and mother are beedi rollers. I studied up to SSLC and rolled beedis in the evenings. When my daughter was in a government primary school in 2020, I decided she should not take up the same work. To keep her away from it, I began coaching her with seven other girls from similar backgrounds in my village."
Convincing parents took weeks, since children often help with beedi rolling alongside school. "Once the girls started winning tournaments, parents began showing interest. Today, we have 25 girls on the team," Soundrapandi added.
He has since enrolled the players at Government High School, Andipatti, and SSV Higher Secondary School, Madhapattinam, both of which now support the team's tournament travel.
"Whenever state-level events such as the CM Trophy, Republic Day Sports (RDS), and sub-junior and junior tournaments are announced, at least four or five Elampuyal girls represent Tenkasi district," Soundrapandi said. "Our girls have won Tenkasi district gold medals in the under-14 RDS and CM Trophy a few times. When they secured bronze in the CM Trophy, they received Rs 3,00,000 in cash also. In open matches, our girls have won more than 100 trophies and several lakhs of rupees in prizes."
National recognition is starting to follow. Brindha S has been selected twice to represent Tamil Nadu by the AKFI, playing at the 34th Sub-Junior National Championship in Bihar and the 35th in Haryana. Swarna Devi recently played for Tamil Nadu in under-14 national-level matches under the School Games Federation of India. Sivani M, Mariya Theresa N, Ajitha A, Keerthika J, Pradheesha S, Devi M, Maharasi V, Abinaya D, Merlin P, Priya G, Harishni S and Inshiya M have all been part of gold-winning Tenkasi sides in recent years.
The girls said they are never charged for coaching or expenses. Funding has come from a patchwork of supporters: fathers Saravanan P and Dravidamani A, additional kabaddi coach M Siva, advisor Mani David T, plus DMK functionary M Sivabalan from Erode, Kerala-based health official Ronald Immanuel and Srivaikundam cattle farmer A Karuthaiah.
The Elampuyal team's rise is a reminder that India's grassroots kabaddi pipeline depends not just on PKL franchises and state federations, but on village-level coaches converting unlikely circumstances into national talent.
