Players recount racist rants
After Darren Sammy, alleged that he was racially abused during his stint with Sunrisers Hyderabad in the Indian Premier League, a number of Indian athletes have now come forward and shared their stories of discrimination that they claim to have faced over the years.
Back in 2013, a 12-yearold shuttler walked up to a branded store in New Delhi to get himself a pair of fresh shoes, but was stopped from entering the showroom by the security guard. “After playing a tournament, I wanted to get myself a new pair of shoes. I was very excited walking up to the store. As I walked up the stairs and reached the door, the gate man refused to let me in. When I insisted, he replied, Tumhare liye yahan kuch nahi hai, aage badho (there is nothing for you here, move on). It was not the first time I was discriminated for whatever reason,” recalled Rankireddy Satwiksairaj, now a 19year-old men’s doubles player.
“While growing up, I faced a lot of name calling amidst other things at least until the Under-13 category. One night I went home crying after a racist incident with some seniors. That night I wanted to give up sport. But my father (R. Kasi Viswanatham), a retired physical education teacher, sat me down and told me, ‘You will face such things all your life. You cannot change people, but you can make yourself stronger mentally and prove yourself on court.’ That was the night I decided that I will not let name calling or racial slurs get to my head,” Satwik added.
Meanwile, former cricketer Dodda Ganesh too recalled being racially discriminated against.
Making his debut for Team India at the age of 23, Dodda Ganesh was at the receiving end of slurs from fellow fast bowler
Allan Donald of South Africa on his first tour to the Rainbow Nation. “Going into bat in Cape Town against an attack that was led by Donald, I was quite intimidated. While batting in the middle with Sachin Tendulkar, Donald started hurling slurs at me. Back then I did not know English so I understood nothing of what he was saying,” Ganesh said.
“After the over was completed, Sachin walked up to Donald and told him, ‘Allan he does not understand English. He only understands a native Indian language, Kannada,’” he added.
“The abuses kept coming in and I got out pretty cheaply. After the day's play, I decided that I will end my life. But it was Sachin who came up to me and invited me for dinner. I am alive today because of my conversation over dinner with him. He talked me out of it,” Ganesh said.
While growing up, I faced a lot of name calling amidst other things. One night I went home crying after a racist incident with some seniors. That night I wanted to give up sport.
— RANKIREDDY SATWIKSAIRAJ badminton player