The sportspeople of De Montfort Students’ Union’s Hindu Society recently tasted regional success.
The sportspeople of De Montfort Students’ Union’s Hindu Society recently tasted regional success.
The team triumphed in the sport of kho in the Central Zone of the National Hindu Students’ Forum’s (NHSF) sports competition – where all Hindu societies from the region’s universities take part – in January this year.
Kho is a traditional Asian tag game, where two teams of nine, including at least one female player, try to avoid being touched by members of the opposite side.
Himansh Sidhana, Hindu Society sports co-ordinator and captain of the kho team, said that although it represented a chance to see some old friends – and make some new ones – the event was, above all, one that everyone wanted to win.
“When I was in sixth form, I had a group of friends and we all separated and went to our different universities, but I got to see them there and meet their mates, so it was really good.
“But the main thing is just to win. You meet new friends, make new networks, but it’s all about winning on the day.
“It was very competitive and a good day.
“You also have to keep in mind that it’s a Hindu Society event, so you respect the culture, the rules and the way we’ve been brought up.”
Himansh, a second-year Business with HR student, continued: “We’ve actually now won Central Zone Kho for two years in a row!
“It’s been tougher this year, because students who were in the final year have left and you’ve got new students coming in, so developing the team is quite difficult.”
Himansh, who got into the sport after attending Hindu youth clubs back in his hometown of London, said that despite having their squad depleted through students leaving university, there was expectation that DMU – and himself as captain – could win the event after being so successful in previous years.
“There was quite a lot of pressure to win because we’d been winning for two years. But I had a team that understands me and worked in a way where we adapt and work on everyone’s skills, so that’s why we won again,” said Himansh.
“And because I was on the team both last year and this year, I felt like I had some sort of responsibility to bring the trophy back to this university and when we won it made it even better.”
The society also entered teams in badminton, netball and football, the latter of which they reached the semi-final stage in, and they run regular training sessions and play friendlies throughout the year.
To find out more about DSU’s Hindu Society, visit their page here. You can also follow them on Twitter.