Hot sand, far-reaching silence, and strong shackles of orthodoxy. Dhingsari, a small village with a population of two and a half thousand, looks like any ordinary sandy village on the map of Rajasthan. These days the air of this village has changed. Before the first rays of the morning break, when the entire desert is sleeping, the sounds of the thump of shoes and the ‘tap-tap’ of football start echoing on the sandy ground here. This story is not just about a game. This is the story of that struggle, which made girls who used to graze goats and do household chores become international players. Today, on the occasion of World Football Day, we take you to Dhingsari village, 58 kilometers south of Bikaner city, where the daughters are earning name in football. Those who used to graze goats till yesterday, are today scoring goals for the country. There is a daughter from Dhingsari village – Munni Bhambhu. Today Munni has become the face of hope for every girl in this village who was once imprisoned in a cage. Coming from a very ordinary family, Munni never even had proper shoes to play with. Despite lack of resources, she would be the first to reach the field and sweat alone till late evening. Today Munni Bhambhu is the main goalkeeper of the Indian Under-17 women’s football team and has represented the country in the ‘Asian Cup Qualifier Match’ held in China. She is the first player from Rajasthan to make it to the Indian women’s football team after 27 years. Not only this, Munni has also received the ‘Best Goalkeeper’ award in the ‘SAFF U-19 Women’s Championship 2026’. Munni gets emotional and says- I was just doing normal studies in the village. Vikram sir held his finger and connected me with football. Whatever I am today is because of him. The daughters of the village are wearing goalkeeper’s gloves and stopping the stormy shots. Munni of Dhingsari village is not alone. Such football seedlings have emerged from these sandy shores that today about 60 daughters of the village are sweating on the field. These are those girls who, till some time ago, either had sticks in their hands to graze goats, or were burdened with household chores like managing the kitchen. The fingers which were only taught to hit cow dung cakes, today are wearing goalkeeper’s gloves and stopping stormy shots. The boys did not show interest, so the coach fingered the girls. This golden journey started in the year 2020. Vikram Singh Rajvi, son of former Indian football team captain and Arjun Awardee Magan Singh Rajvi (who himself is in the Railways and is a football coach), took up the responsibility of grooming the new generation. He started with the village boys, but the boys did not show any special interest in the game. Sometimes he would come to practice, and sometimes he would disappear. This path of fielding village daughters was not so easy. Vikram Singh reached those houses where girls were confined to school, kitchen or farm work only. In the beginning, ‘no’ was heard from every door. People were not ready to send their daughters out. But some families agreed to the coach’s insistence and in the year 2021, training started with 20 girls on the sandy land of Dhingsari. When there was protest against wearing ‘shorts’, the women of the house were brought into the field. It was a big deal for girls to play football in the village, but the real test came when the girls were asked to play wearing lowers (shorts). In the conservative environment, there was a lot of opposition to girls playing in short clothes. The family members were adamant. Then coach Vikram Singh came up with an idea. He called the Kota Football Academy team for a match in Dhingsari. In that match, Kota girls came wearing shorts and Dhingsari’s team lost. Vikram Singh explained to the girls and their parents that wearing shorts for agility in this game is a compulsion, not a hobby. To remove the hesitation and fear of the villagers, the coach’s wife and the women of his house also started sitting on the field during practice every day. Only then did the parents gain confidence. Coach Vikram Singh Rajvi says – Initially, he used to bring the girls who used to come from 4-5 kilometers away to the ground in his own car. His only insistence was that his feet should not stop. When one player got engaged, the coach went to Kota with the entire team. In the year 2022, there was another big turn in this journey. Her family fixed the engagement of a promising player of the team in Kota. Vikram Singh was afraid that the departure of one girl might break the morale of the entire team. He took a historic decision. They themselves shifted to Kota along with all 20 girls. There he got admission in school and made him join the academy. This two years of penance bore fruit when the National Tournament was held in Belgaum, Karnataka. Out of the 22 players selected in the Rajasthan team, 12 girls were from Dhingsari village alone. When these daughters won the National Football Tournament in Karnataka, the entire Dhingsari village had tears in their eyes. The village which was once protesting, was now standing with open eyes to welcome its daughters. Sold 15 bighas of land for the dreams of his daughters. In the year 2024, Vikram Singh returned back to the village with the girls. Now the confidence of the villagers had strengthened, but a larger field was needed for training. Vikram Singh first bought 10 bighas of land in the village with his savings, but the land was becoming small. He wanted 8.50 bighas more land. Vikram Singh says- I had 15 bighas of ancestral land away from the village. But I had to build an academy in this village. I sold my entire 15 bigha land and with that money bought land in the village itself and built two wonderful football grounds. See the charisma of this ground… In the year 2024, after 60 years, Rajasthan girls won the National Football Trophy. There were 12 girls from Dhingsari in this team also. It was a wonderful coincidence that exactly 60 years after coach Vikram Singh’s father Magan Singh Rajvi had won the National Trophy, the daughters of the same village repeated the history. The picture of Dhingsari has changed, now 100 daughters are taking training while staying in the hostel. Today the picture of Dhingsari village has completely changed. Senior player Hansa Rajvi says- Earlier we used to just do household work and fill water. Now we are in the field at 5:30 in the morning. Rajasthan team captain Sanju Rajvi says- Now the thinking of the people of the village has changed. Instead of marrying girls at a young age, people want to feed them. Arjun Awardee said – 100 girls are taking training. Arjun Awardee Magan Singh Rajvi says – We have invested our entire capital, but today we are happy that 100 girls are taking training here. Now Bhamashah is also coming forward in this holy work.
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रेगिस्तान में बकरियां चराती थीं, आज फुटबॉल खिलाड़ी: लड़कियों के शॉर्ट्स पहनने का विरोध हुआ, कोच ने बेच दी थी अपनी 15 बीघा जमीन – Rajasthan News
