Khelo India Beach Games: After impressing at Asiad, Khushbu, Chaoba hope for Sepak Takraw’s brighter future

Khelo India Beach Games: After impressing at Asiad, Khushbu, Chaoba hope for Sepak Takraw’s brighter future

“Inlog ka serve toh badhiyan hai! (The serves of these women are really nice). ”

A group of onlookers commended the serving technique of a women’s Sepak Takraw team compared to a men’s team, with both matches taking place on adjacent courts at the Khelo India Beach Games on Tuesday. After pausing to observe, they continued along the pathway by Ghoghla beach in Diu.

Among the women’s Sepak Takraw players at the Games, two athletes stood out — Oinam Chaoba Devi and Khushbu — both bronze medallists at the 2022 Asian Games.

“The beach makes it difficult to have a footing. Running becomes hard as the foot keeps going into the sand [laughs],” Chaoba told Sportstar shortly after one of her matches.

“There’s a lot of hard work that goes into playing on the beach. Receiving the ball becomes uncomfortable,” Khushbu added later in the evening.

She also pointed out that playing on indoor or standard outdoor courts — the surfaces they are more accustomed to — comes much more naturally, something they demonstrated at the 2023 Hangzhou Asian Games.

Chaoba and Khushbu were part of the Regu team that clinched a historic bronze at the 2022 Asian Games — the first-ever medal for Indian women in the sport at the Asiad. That success marked a turning point in both their lives.

“‘What will she get by playing; for how long will she play?’ were what people used to tell me. In 2007, I started training in the SAI (Sports Authority of India) centre in Manipur. We have a lot of facilities there. A lot has changed since.

The Hangzhou Games were my third Asiad, and the first where I won a medal. Now, the people of my village speak a different language, encouraging me and telling me to continue playing. They surprise me at my home with garlands as well,” said Chaoba, who began playing in 2004.

For Khushbu, the medal brought greater awareness of Sepak Takraw in her home state of Uttar Pradesh.

“After I won the medal, people in UP got to know what the sport is. Very few people know about it. Many children don’t know about it. I was called to different places for interviews as well.”

Interestingly, neither athlete began with Sepak Takraw.

Chaoba, who comes from a region far from Manipur’s capital, was initially drawn to athletics. But the sport wasn’t viable — the nearest facility was in Khuman Lampak, Imphal, too far from her village. A club just 15 minutes from home offered her first glimpse of Sepak Takraw, and proximity played a decisive role.

For Khushbu, still in school at the time, the appeal lay in doing something unconventional.

“I initially thought of trying out hockey. But then I switched to this. At first, I couldn’t grasp anything, but I stuck with my decision. I wanted to play a unique sport. It has given me a lot, mere ragg ragg mai bas gaya hai (It has become a part of me). Even when I tried to leave it, I couldn’t.”

Having been involved in Sepak Takraw for over two decades, Chaoba has witnessed its evolution in India.

She competed in the SuperSeries tournament in New Delhi in 2013 — the first international Sepak Takraw event hosted in India. This year, she took part in her second major international event on home soil: the World Cup in Bihar, where she won two medals.

“In Bihar, the arrangement was quite nice. I had lots of fun there.”

A ligament tear, caused by overexertion leading up to the Asian Games, kept Khushbu out of the World Cup.

Still, both athletes agree that Sepak Takraw has brought them stability and purpose.

After joining the SAI training programme, Chaoba went on to win gold at the 2011 National Games. That result earned her a job in Manipur’s sports department, giving her financial security.

Khushbu, now 29, secured employment in a paramilitary force thanks to her sporting achievements.

She praised the efforts of the Sepak Takraw Federation of India to raise awareness of the sport and expressed hope that it would one day feature at the Olympics.

While Khushbu felt the quality of the Indian women’s team had improved significantly since their bronze-winning campaign, Chaoba believes there’s more to be done at the grassroots level.

“There’s a need to create an academy from which players for the national teams can be developed. We have camps in Thailand, and we see their academies which are really good. We should have longer camps where players from all parts of the country, juniors or otherwise, come together to train for international tournaments.”

Published on May 21, 2025