Today’s Wimbledon men’s final won’t start till an Indian gives them the nod. Tossing the coin at Centre Court is Pinki Sonkar, of Oscar-winning documentary Smile Pinki fame
today, when Andy Murray (Britain) plays Novak Djokovic (Serbia) at the Centre Court of London?s All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in the men?s finals of Wimbledon, the third annual major tournament in the tennis calendar and arguably the most coveted one, an 11-year-old Indian will be present at the court to get them started. Pinki Sonkar, from Uttar Pradesh, is all set to toss the coin ahead of the men?s singles final match. And she is not only the first Indian to toss the coin at Wimbledon, but also the first girl to do so at the gentleman?s game.
For the uninitiated, she is the same girl who rose to fame in 2008 after a documentary based on her life, Smile Pinki, won the Oscar for best documentary (short subject) at the 81st Academy Awards. Megan Mylan?s 39-minute documentary captured the surgery Sonkar had to undergo to get rid of her cleft lip.
And now Sonkar is all set to spread her smile at Wimbledon, one of the most watched sporting events in the world.
Interestingly, Sonkar had never seen a tennis match in her life until recently and is oblivious to the magnitude of the event. ?I had never seen any tennis match. But I am prepared to toss the coin and see the match now,? she says. The class II student of St Agnes School, Mirzapur, whose favourite game is gudwa (played with pebbles placed inside squares on the ground), will be accompanied by her father Rajendra Sonkar and surgeon Subodh Kumar Singh, who operated upon her in 2007. They will be representing Smile Train, a charity that provides free cleft surgery to poor children across the world. After the formalities, Sonkar will watch the match accompanied by lunch at the legendary Competitors? restaurant.
Born with a cleft lip in a poor family, Sonkar spent the first six years of her life in ostracisation. A chance encounter with a social worker changed the life of the little girl. And the rest, as they say, is history.
Though she has been to the US once to receive an Oscar for Smile Pinki, Sonkar is upbeat about her trip to London and has many plans apart from tossing the coin. ?I have been told that we will visit a chocolate factory there and am very excited. My friends have asked me to bring back chocolates for them. I also want to go on some rides. I have heard and seen pictures of amusement parks in London and want to visit them all,? she says. Sonkar also wants to visit the London zoo during her seven-day trip.
Sonkar?s surgeon Singh says she has been preparing herself for London by watching tennis matches on TV and learning more about the game. ?She knew nothing about tennis sometime back, but after she heard about her Wimbledon trip, she has been watching tennis on TV. The 2008 Oscar ceremony was a glamorous event and she is hoping this would be a similar kind of event,? he says.
When Leander Paes won the doubles? and mixed doubles? titles at Wimbledon in 1999, 2003 and 2010, they were proud moments for India. However, an Indian being part of the singles? Grand Slam event of the gentleman?s game still remains an unfulfilled dream. Sonkar?s achievement will, in some form, remedy that.
James Bevan, British high commissioner to India, hopes Sonkar?s presence in the finals will bring good luck to his country?s tennis fraternity. ?I hope she will be a lucky mascot for British tennis as it has been 77 years since a British player has won the men?s singles? title at Wimbledon,? he says, adding, ?I hope Pinki?s smile brightens up Wimbledon. She is the ambassador of children who are born with cleft lips. Every child has the right to live happily and smile, and Pinki has proven that.?
For Smile Train, Pinki, the most-renowned cleft lip patient in the world, was a natural choice to represent it at Wimbledon. ?I happened to be in London the day the final decision was taken that Smile Train has been chosen to toss the coin at Wimbledon. Pinki was our first choice because of her global reach. However, she was rejected by Wimbledon, saying it should be a boy as it is for the men?s finals. However, after a lot of negotiations and talks, they agreed to allow her. She is not only the first Indian to toss the coin at Wimbledon, she is also the first girl to do it at the gentleman?s game,? says Satish Kalra, chief programmes officer, Smile Train.
Every year, more than 1.70 lakh children are born with a cleft lip or palate. Most cannot speak or eat properly and are often humiliated and isolated, especially in poverty-stricken, illiterate societies that see clefts as curses. It is a major cause of children falling out of school and it can erode a child?s confidence. However, it can be easily corrected by a 45-minute surgery, costing about R16,000, which has a 100% success rate.
Hopefully, Sonkar?s feats will encourage other such kids to write their own success stories.
