BookASmile-backed Ultimate Frisbee Team wins Bronze for India at the Asia-Oceania Ultimate Frisbee Championships in China

Mumbai, August 8, 2019: Now is the best time to get out of the house and office and start some form of physical activity, even take up a new sport. One such sport is “ultimate frisbee”, the globally trending flying disc sport played with a standard sized frisbee.

This July was a milestone in achievement for India as the national ultimate frisbee team won the bronze medal at the Asia- Oceanic Championships held at Shanghai, China. The championship which was held from July 23rd-27th, 2019 saw 11 nations from the Asia-Oceanic region participating in the prestigious event.

The Indian squad, supported by India’s leading entertainment destination BookMyShow’s charity initiative BookASmile, comprised of 10 female and 12 male athletes, hailing from 7 different Indian cities and varied socio-economic backgrounds. The athletes were selected by the Ultimate Players Association of India (UPAI) after two rounds of rigorous tryouts, from over 200 players across the country.

Team India sailed through the first match against Korea followed by another dominating win over Taiwan. On the second day of the tournament, India faced a strong Malaysian squad and lost a close game, with the athletes finding it difficult to make a comeback in the 45-degree heat! In the afternoon, in yet another tough match, India lost to eventual gold medalists, Philippines, but ended up qualifying for the quarterfinals.

The next morning, India played their best match of the tournament to upset top-ranked Australia to advance to the semi-finals, 15-12, but lost in a repeat performance to Philippines, 10-15. That evening, India beat the home team China in a nail-biting contest, 11-10 to bring home the bronze medal!

For the Asia-Oceanic Championships, the Indian team trained at camps held at various locations throughout India, over the past 8 months. It is interesting to note that India began the tournament unseeded but finished strong in third place.

Farzana Cama Balpande, Head - BookASmile said, “We are excited to be a part of an upcoming sport like Ultimate Frisbee that has been gaining popularity in the country. BookASmile has always strived to make available, varied sport offerings for the less privileged in a bid to promote overall personality development and offer everyone an equal opportunity to be entertained. The Indian team at the Asia-Oceanic Championships has performed exceptionally well. Heartiest congratulations to UPAI for the glorious win!”