Q. Tell us about yourself and how your journey began?
Ans. I did my schooling from Modern School, Vasant Vihar. About my family, I have an elder
brother and both of my parents are working. During my schooling years, I was part of my school Interact club, under which we posted various blood drives, food drives, it is very similar to what Enactus does. About football, my friend circle had only me as a woman and other than that my elder brothers were there. I was always surrounded by boys and this is how I grew up. And I used to play football with them only. I started playing it at a very young age. I fell in love with this sport. We had a senior football team in our school, which you can join from 6th grade. One day the coach saw me playing and he asked to come over for the training from the next day. He saw my talent and that’s how it all began. During the games period, most of my classmates used to bunk but I used to play with my friends. I became a part of the school senior football team and I was the youngest among them. Other members used to be mostly from senior secondary classes but I was the only one from 6th grade.
Q. Tell us about the achievements you have received in the field of sports.
Ans. I went to my first senior school football national tournament which was associated with
CBSE. For the qualification round I went to Chandigarh and my parents accompanied me for this tournament since I was very young. After qualifying this we went for senior nationals and that was held in Satna, Bihar. It was held in the same year. That was my first tournament for the senior football team and after that I have represtend my school in national, inter-zonal tournaments. We used to play regularly and every month we used to have tournaments.Every year at my school I used to get an award for outstanding performance in football. For my school
it was a big deal because we played against the students who came there from several states of India and we won it. Also I feel getting selected for Khelo India was my biggest achievement. I gave trials for it and I
got selected for the Delhi team. We had a two weeks training programme in Noida and we used to go there regularly. Our team played against other states of India. I was selected for the under 17, Delhi team. It was a two week long programme so we stayed in Kundan Palace, Delhi with the whole team. I stayed there with two of my school friends and we had a great time. It was held in Jawaharlal Nehru stadium, Delhi. It was their first event and their second event held in Chandigarh and after that pandemic started. I have also played in the Subroto International Cup. There I represented my school. It was an international football tournament. Teams like Bangladesh and others also came to participate in it. We played it two times. It was held in Delhi. I am totally dedicated to football only. I do play many other games as well and I prefer sports
over anything else.
Q. How did you manage your studies and sports?
Ans. In recent years I used to play football in my free time. When I got the opportunity toto represent my school in tournaments I started playing for it but when it started affecting my
studies then I chose to prioritize my studies over it. When I have an exam or test approaching, I focus more on that. I never stopped playing the sport even when the pandemic started I used to play with my friends. I never took it professionally since I don't want to make a career in it. I tend to focus more on my studies. I keep the balance between both things. When I had my 10th board examination, I told my new coach that I won’t be able to give much time to the sport as it consumes lots of my time. In the morning at around 6 am we used to have our training sessions and I used to live far away from my school. I lived in North Delhi and my school was in South Delhi. So it was difficult for me to go up and down. I focused my last 2-3 months on my studies and secured 93%. In my 11th grade I went for only a few tournaments but Covid came in the mid. Here in Delhi people form their own team and I am part of the Friends united FC. My sir started that team and I am part of it. It’s a Delhi cup under which various coaches form their own team. Since I didn’t wanted to quit playing football, so I joined his team. We had a few matches in Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium. We had our last match on 28th Dec’21. In my 12 we didn’t had matches due to covid. And when college began I joined coaching since I had a lot of free time.
Q. What are your further career plans?
Ans. I am not sure of what I want to pursue. I may figure it out later. I never saw football as my career, I do not want to pursue it as my career.
Q. We always see that women aren’t much supported when they want to pursue their
future in sports. Did you also went through any kind of stigma at your home or any other
place?
Ans. I am very lucky, my parents used to come and watch my every seasonal match. As I told
earlier, my parents took me to Chandigarh for my first tournament. They came there to
support me. Whenever they get a chance they do come to support me in my match. They have been beyond supportive. They often ask me to pursue football professionally but I don't want the same. Even my extended family have always been supportive. They feel proud of me and my achievements. In my school as well we used to get lots of appreciation. I feel that I have been lucky in that aspect.
Q. It is seen that accomplishments of women in sports generally remain unknown and
are not much appreciated as that of others. Even though we are moving towards changes,
women still go through a lot of stereotypes. What have been such kinds of challenges/stereotypes that you have come across?
Ans. I haven’t come across any type of stereotypes but I feel that people consider sports to be for men and not for women. I haven’t gone through any stigma but I have heard people saying such things . I have heard people saying to me “why are you wasting your time?” “you should learn some skills instead of wasting your time in the field” I have heard people saying such things like that. I feel that sports are sports they are not meant for any particular gender, anybody can take up the sport they like. They should not face barriers due to their gender. I feel bad to see such
things because women have as much capabilities as men.
Q. We do have people in our life who stand by us in every situation. Who were all
those people who have supported and motivated you all this while?
Ans. My parents, elder brothers and my fellow teammates, we all used to motivate each other. Whenever any of you won't perform better then we use to pick each other and train together so that we can improve ourselves. Mainly my family has been the most supportive. My childhood friends also deserve appreciation because with them only I started playing football. My coach, Rupesh Sir, was one the one to encourage me to participate in Khelo India. He had a very important role in my story. He has been my mentor since I was in 6th grade. I have been lucky to have a coach like him. He used to do a lot of hard work to improve us. He also criticized me a lot and when I grew up I realized how it was important for us to improve ourselves. He used to dedicate a lot of his time. He was very punctual with training. I will say our team couldn't
have been so successful without him. I couldn't have asked for a better mentor than him. He supported us very much.
Q. Please describe your experience with failures.
Ans. I have faced failures but at a minor level. I have observed many sports people taking all
these very personally. Setbacks are a very important part of sports. When we want something, we work very hard for it. You always want to win but the very first step in becoming a sportsperson is to accept the failures. Obviously things won’t happen the same way every time the way you planned them to be.
Q. How will you sum up your journey?
Ans. My journey till now has been very great. It has shaped me into a better person. It has taught me so many important lessons, team work, leadership, communication, everything. Football in itself is a different world and I couldn’t have asked anything except for that. I am grateful to sports for everything it has given to me. Every child must indulge themselves into sports as it just teaches not only about the particular game but many things and I am talking about this from my
personal experiences.
Highlights
● Radhikka Bajpai is a football player. She has represented her school in manynational,
inter-zonal tournaments.
● In her initial days she used to play football with her elder brothers and friends.
● Her coach saw the potential in her while she was playing football with her friends and
asked her to come for the training form the very next day.
● Her first senior school football national tournament was associated with CBSE.
● She played in Khelo India, for which she was selected in the Delhi team for under 17.
● She has also played in the Subroto International Cup.
● She has achieved laurels in her academics as well. She has secured 93% in her 10th board
exams.
● Her family, friends, relatives and her coach have been very supportive to her.
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