EUMIND INTERVIEW QUESTIONS – MS.

SMITA MAPARI

1. What is your name? What do you do?

A. My name is Smita Mapari and I am physical education teacher at Euro School, Airoli.
2. What are your qualifications?
A. I have done M.com and bachelor’s in physical education.
3. Was it always your dream to work in the sports domain?
A. Yes.
4. When exactly did you decide on taking up sports as a career?
A. Since the time, I was in Grade 3 I have started taking part in sports which I continued till my
higher grades. This finally helped me to decide to take up sports as a career.
5. Were you always supported by your family to pursue sports? If yes, then how?
A. Yes, my mother wanted to me to be an Athlete because from my childhood I had am athletic
physique and I was also very active in sports. Due to this my mother enrolled me in a special
training class.
6. Were you guided and encouraged well at school level to pursue sports? If yes, then how?
A. No, not in school but my Athletics coach and my mom encouraged me a lot.
7. Do you think it is easy for women in our region to make a career in sports? Discuss.
A. Yes, now a days it’s easy but being a sportsman, however, we need to put in a lot of hard
work. In addition to that, Maharashtra is a well-developed state from the point of view of sports.
Today, we have so many facilities.

EUMIND INTERVIEW QUESTIONS – MS. JAYASHREE MA’AM

1. What is your name? What do you do for a living?

A. My name is Jayashree Mirashi. I work as a teacher.
2. What are your qualifications?
A. I have completed my M.A, B.Ed. As I was interested in sports since childhood, so I also pursued
B.P.ed. Apart from that I am a double graduate in Economics and a trained Bharatnattyam dancer
with a Visharad.
3. Was it always your dream to work in the sports domain?
A. Yes, As I was always a sportsperson, so it made my choice easier. I have brought laurels in
games like Volleyball, Kho-Kho and High jump.
4. When exactly did you decide on taking up sports as a career?
A. Very early during my college days.
5. Were you always supported by your family to pursue sports? If yes, then how?
A. Yes, they were always supportive. During event preparation I spent long hours practicing
which meant arriving home late. Despite that my parents never questioned me or criticized me.
This added on to my confidence to do exceptionally well. My food, and my health was always a
priority to them just as much of mine.
6. Were you guided and encouraged well at school level to pursue sports? If yes, then how?
A. No. Support of the parents plays a significant role but having an effective coach was just as
important. Unfortunately, I struggled a great deal in finding a coach
7. Do you think it is easy for sportspersons in our region to make a career in sports? Discuss.
A. No, considering that there is a balance required in the process of becoming a sportsman and
then sustaining oneself in his/her prime. This challenge is quite consuming hence spiritual
awareness and approach is very necessary to be an excellent sportsman. Slowly but steadily the
spiritual awareness in developing amongst sportsman.

INTERVIEW OF A BUDDING SPORTSPERSON – MS. AARZU THAKKER

1. What is your name? How old are you?

A. I am Aarzu Thakker. I am 14 years old.

2. What are you passionate about?

A. I am passionate about tennis for a very long time now.

3. Since how long have you been following your passion?

A. I have been playing tennis ever since I was four and I was attracted to the sport instantly.

4. Would you like to pursue it as your career in the future?

A. Yes, I would like to pursue tennis as a career in the future.

5. Do you think you have received enough support from your family, friends or coaches in pursuing
Tennis?
A. My family is a pillar of strength for me. They are fully in favour of me following my passion and
try and help to the best of their abilities. My coach and I train with the goal of becoming world
number one in the future and trains me hard. He advices me on what to do and what not to, both
on and off the court. My friends are supportive of me. Even if we don't meet frequently because
of my training and matches, we still share a very good bond.

6. Are the facilities available for pursuing Tennis satisfactory?

A. Tennis isn't as popular as cricket in India because of which there aren't many facilities or
courts. There are big academies like Sania Mirza tennis academy and Rohan Bopanna tennis
academy, owned by some of the great players from India which are sufficient for all the needs of
an athlete. However, many aspiring players cannot admit themselves in those academies
because of financial restrictions or leaving their education, for me it is the latter. I train at NMSA
(Navi Mumbai Sports Association), and it is as good as the other well-known academies.

7. Do you think it is easy for women in our region to make a career in Tennis? Discuss.
A. Being a woman does not really make any difference but because of tennis not being popular
amongst the crowd in India, the players do not get as many opportunities as the foreign players.
Their training compared to ours also makes much of a difference. They are usually granted a
sponsor by the age of 15, cutting most of their expenses and are accompanied by a team of
professionals helping them with their diet, fitness, phycology and helps them with their overall
game. I believe even though we don't have many facilities, with our hard work and
determination we can reach our goals.