Indian National Ultimate Frisbee team wins silver at the 2024 Asia Oceanic Championship held in Japan

Indian National Ultimate Frisbee team wins silver at AOUBC, boosting the sport's growth in India.

June 16 was a proud day for the Indian National Ultimate Frisbee mixed team as they won silver at the Asian Oceanic Ultimate Beach Championships (AOUBC) held at Shirahama, Japan. They competed against defending champions, the Philippines, who also won first place in the men’s and women’s categories. It is the number one team in Asia.

The win, at a competition which drew participants not just from Asia but also Australia and New Zealand, has been a big push for Ultimate Frisbee which is in its nascence in India. In its 2019 edition, the team clinched the bronze medal. This year, with the exception of one player from Bengaluru, the rest of the 18-member team was from Chennai. The athletes were chosen based on national try-outs and a selection camp.

Though the sport is usually played both on the beach and grass, the former is more popular.

“The team prepared for nearly six months before the event; around six training camps were held in Chennai. It is a cause for celebration for the team and the sport in India,” said Alex Sebastian, chief executive officer, India Ultimate Players Association. On why the majority of the team is from Chennai, he added, “Perhaps due to Chennai’s proximity to the beach, and access to it for the players. Our players do well on that surface.” 

The beach format has five players on each side, Like with basketball, the players are substituted so most of the team plays in a match. The grass format has seven players to a side.

Of the sport’s increasing popularity over the past decade, Alex said, “People see the benefit of the sport, it is physical activity. A lot of work is being done at the grassroots level to create interest in it. Players pick up the game, say from college, turn passionate evangelists for the sport and take it back with them in turn creating a community of players. There are NGOs working on popularising the mixed gender format sport.” .” The sport is played in the men and women only format too; the Ultimate Frisbee Association, however sent the mixed format team for the championship.

Most frisbee-playing States in the country have State-level associations and State and regional Ultimate competitions taking place in the lead up to the annual National Ultimate Championship.