Arnika faces a dilemma — job or late dad’s dream

If her mind says may be,’ Arnika’s heart is not in it.

She would rather stay home and realise her father’s dream. A dream that perished in a tragic accident in 1992.

“My father wanted basketball to flourish in Satara. He wanted a large number of boys and girls to take to the game,” she says softly.

Her eyes, usually friendly, momentarily toughens. Her mind has gone back seven years.

Arnika was in the van that was returning home from Solapur, carrying the Ajinkya Gymkhana girls team, a team her father Late Ranjit Gujar had nursed.

Arnika escaped with a few scratches, but the road accident claimed her father, and ended career aspirations of at least a couple of Ajinkya players, including the then Maharashtrayouth girls captain Sajida Bagwan.

Perhaps, losing her father resolved Arnika to work harder. At 17, still a school girl, she was representing Maharashtra in the senior women’s Nationals, and was included in the India team for the Asian Women’s Championship. And though she will not take the credit, it is under her guidance that Ajinkya Gymkhana has remained the best women’s team in the state for three years running, and could count among the best in the country.

But Arnika is worried the honeymoon will not last. The lack of bench strength (the team relies heavily on Arnika, sister Mithila and sharp shooter Pradnya Mane) and the trickle of fresh enrolments has hit the club’s performance at the age group levels.

“We don’t have a coach. There is no one to review our play, to guide us. Moreover, there are few youngsters joining basketball. Even if they come, who is going to coach them?” says Arnika candidly, after her team lost the final of the state junior championship earlier this month.

There is agreater guilt gnawing at the proud daughter. The late Ranjit Gujar would be unhappy with this sorry state of affairs. “My father did not want Ajinkya Gymkhana to be a one-team wonder. Satara basketball should not be limited to Arnika, Pradnya and Mithila.”

She knows she has it in her to step into her father’s shoes. She has been coaching the Satara juniors team for two years now. She has also been managing the fortunes of her father’s club rather well. She is mature, responsible, an excellent role model, and a thinking player. Will she take the plunge?

“I enjoy coaching. I know team-building is my strength. But I have to complete my graduation first. Then before taking any decision I have to talk to my mother.”

As it looks now, Western Railway’s loss may well be Satara’s gain.