Mancherial: Coal miner’s daughter shines in football

Meet Masavena Vanitha, an inspiring football player turned coach from the coal belt town

Mancherial: A coal miner’s daughter from Bellampalli is excelling in football, a sport usually doimnated by men.

Meet Masavena Vanitha, an inspiring football player turned coach from the coal belt town. Unfazed by the loss of her father at a young age and mocking statements by her ‘well-wishers’, she ventured into the unconventional sport for women and proved her mettle in it. She has now become a role model to girls of this region who aspire to shine in sports and is moulding girls as sportswomen.

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“My father Lingaiah was killed when an accident occurred in a coal mine when I was barely 3 years old. I developed a penchant for football by taking a cue from my elder sister Jyothi, who used to play the sport, when I was in Class 8. I was mocked by some neighbors and relatives for selecting the sport to prove myself,” Vanitha told ‘Telangana Today.’

Supported by her mother Lakshmi, Vanitha participated in eight national-level football competitions and represented Adilabad district football team which won five state-level trophies. She attributed her success in the sport to unwavering support by her mother and encouragement extended by her physical education teachers Roja Varakumari, Ravi Kumar and coach Bablu from Bellampalli.

“It was my mother who offered rock solid support when everyone was opposing me. She would reply to naysayers that I would follow my heart. I promised her that I would bring recognition to her by not neglecting studies even as I focused on sports. I lived up to expectations of my mother, a pillar of my strength,” she averred.

First woman coach of Telangana

Significantly, Vanitha drew headlines when she became the first woman football coach from Telangana by earning a diploma in sports coaching from Nethaji Subhas National Institute of Sports (NIS)-eastern centre in Kolkata in 2022. “Those who ridiculed me for entering into football were amazed after learning that I was the first woman coach in the State,” she recounted.

Currently a coach at Eklavya Model Residential School (EMRS)-Kaghaznagar, she had pursued Bachelor of Physical Education at Rayalaseema College of Physical Education-Proddatur and earned post graduation in master of physical education from Nagarjuna University in 2015. She was recognised as a qualified coach by Sports Authority of India in 2020.

The 28-year old bagged the district best physical director award by the district authorities in 2019, the best coach award from ITDA-Utnoor in January and September of 2023. She had worked as a PD in Tribal Welfare Residential Degree College in Asifabad from 2017 to 2019 before being selected as a coach at EMRS-Kaghaznagar in 2021.