I come from Yamunanagar district of Haryana, a state which is known for its excellence in various sports like Kho Kho, Judo, Kabaddi, Boxing and Wrestling. But the sport which I was particularly interested in was Basketball. A fast-paced game that requires the knowledge and instinct to perform quickly and properly.
I’ve played basketball since when I was ten-years-old. I gave basketball my heart and soul. I never went for tuition outside school because I had to go for basketball practice in the evening for four long hours after travelling 12 km on my bicycle. I had a dream to compete at a national level representing my state or my university. Years went by but I never got the chance to play for the Haryana team because of the heavy competition and corruption in the selection process. But I never stopped playing and kept participating in every tournament I could. On 28th November 2015, I went with my team to participate in a three-day-long open state cash prize tournament in a small village near Karnal, Haryana. We were playing good in that tournament and the quarter-finals after winning a match on the evening of 29th November 2015. Everything was going smooth except that I was not receiving any signal on my cellular network in that village. I was eating dinner after winning the match and my teammate came to me stating that there is a call for you from your college. In the feeling of amazement I took the phone and on the other side was Head of Sports Department of my college stating that he has been trying to contact me for the past 1 day to tell me that I’ve been selected for the Kurukshetra University Basketball camp and I have to report there the very next day to be eligible to attend the camp and be a prospect for the University team. I discussed the matter with my team and coach and they were more than happy to let me leave this tournament for the camp. So, I quickly packed my bag and before I left I went to my friend to acknowledge his help and to ask which cellular network he uses and his answer was ‘Idea’.
So, this is how Idea or now known as Vodafone Idea limited changed my life and helped me achieve one my dreams, as that year I got selected in the university team and we won the 3rd position in North-Zone Inter-University basketball tournament and qualified for All-India Inter-University basketball tournament after 5 years.