To deal with the grief of the sudden death of her husband at the age of 44, Ancy Alexander’s counsellor suggested she try some physical activity. It would, she explained, take her mind off things and release those famously feel-good endorphins that would help her better cope with her sense of loss.

This is how, aged 37, Ancy found herself googling football for adult women for the first time in her life. She had never played any sport, not even as a schoolgirl. But her husband Aneesh Ananth had been athletic and enthusiastic, playing cricket and watching tennis and football. Watching with him, Ancy began to understand and appreciate the nuances of the game.

So, when she was advised to take up physical activity she thought, why not honour his memory with football? “It would have given him such a kick to have seen me play,” she said on the phone from Bengaluru where she works as a software engineer.

The Google search eventually led her to Sisters in Sweat (SIS), an organisation set up to promote the somewhat radical concept—in much of South Asia at least—of women playing sport for fun. Set up eight years ago by Swetha Subbiah, a former national hockey player and a Nike-certified instructor and Tanvie Hans a national-level football player, SIS came about when a group of women wanted to get together to play football. “It was about coming together, having fun and breaking into a sweat,” said Swetha. That first session for 17 women in November 2017, supervised by a fitness instructor and followed by breakfast, proved to be such a hit that the women said they wanted a repeat every weekend.

What began as a Whatsapp group where sessions would get booked within minutes of being announced, is now more organised with multiple sport formats including basketball, pickleball,........

© hindustantimes