Every evening, the ground in Valluvar Nagar in Sainikpuri, Telangana, fills up with nearly 90 boys chasing a football. But look closer, and you will spot seven to ten girls among them, holding their own on a field that once belonged only to the boys.

This Tamil-speaking pocket of Secunderabad has earned itself a nickname over the decades: ‘Mini Brazil’. During every FIFA World Cup, its lanes are lined with flags of Brazil, Argentina and Portugal, and giant cutouts of football stars appear outside homes. 

But the real story of Mini Brazil is not about the World Cup. It is about a tradition that has moved from father to son, and coach to student, for nearly 60 years, and is now, slowly, opening up to daughters too.

The girl who refused to leave the sidelines

Before she became a national-level footballer, Ranganathan Keshwardhini, known to everyone as Mary, was a young girl standing at the edge of the ground, hoping someone would let her play. She was often turned away and told there was no place for girls. She kept returning anyway.

When she finally got........

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