A football whooshed past the goalpost, and a chorus of groans erupted, followed almost immediately by laughter. “That was definitely going in,” someone protested as a dozen women collapsed on the turf, catching their breath.  

On a rare overcast Sunday morning in Chennai, nobody seemed particularly concerned about keeping score. Some of these women had never kicked a football before joining the group. They showed up for different reasons be it for trying something new, meeting people, or getting out of the house, but they stayed for the same one: because it was fun. 

In an era where every workout promises stronger bones, improved longevity, and optimal health, a growing number of women are rediscovering movement through something much simpler: play. 

For many women, the last time they played a sport purely for fun was in school. Somewhere between report cards and responsibilities, playgrounds replaced workplaces, and movement became something scheduled, measured, and optimised through fitness apps, tracking progress through numbers. 

Today in Chennai, Bengaluru-based Sisters in Sweat (SIS), is helping women rediscover joy in movement. Launched in Chennai in February, the community is hosting beginner classes for contact sports like football and basketball besides community games for pickleball and badminton, and other movement-based activities like yoga, animal flow, Bollywood dancing, pilates, running, kettlebell workouts, and more. 

The appeal goes beyond fitness. While strength training and structured workouts continue to be important, many women are increasingly seeking forms of movement that offer something more like the thrill of learning a new skill, the camaraderie of team sports, and the opportunity to carve out a space for themselves outside of work and family responsibilities. In these communities, improved fitness often becomes a welcome side effect rather than the primary goal. 

Pickleball
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement

For Anusha Ramachandran, Chennai community lead at SIS, that sense of fun is central to the community’s appeal. “This is a non-judgmental, open, and comfortable space where women come to try something they might otherwise feel intimidated by,” she says. 

“As we grow older, it’s not easy to build a group of friends or find a community. The women who play football regularly now had never touched a football before. Nobody knew how to kick. But today, if you see them, it’s incredible,” says Anusha, adding that the community often extends beyond scheduled sessions. She recalls how a group of women who met through the football programme recently booked a turf on their own and organised a game. Others who joined the community’s running days as strangers, found themselves encouraging one another through their first three-kilometre and five-kilometre runs.

Girika Mahajan, a pastry chef who moved to Chennai a few years ago, says “I’ve always liked group sports. It helps build a sense of camaraderie,” she says, adding that she has been playing football with SIS for the last three months and has since learnt many skills and made friends. She also points out that playing a sport is also a mental workout. “The gym is repetitive. This is a physical and mental workout. You’re learning strategy, skills and doing it with a group,” says the 38 year old. 

Boxing
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Special Arrangement

“I’ve never played football before and I went to one game just to see if I would like it, and it was a very chill space where everyone is learning and figuring things out. We take things at our own pace and its a relaxed way to learn a sport,” says 30-year-old psychologist, Pallavi Rajankar adding that this counts as both fitness and fun. “I hate doing cardio, but here when you are with friends and doing something fun, you are able to push your boundaries,” she says. 

What emerges from these conversations is a shift in how women are approaching movement. Across Chennai, a growing number of women-focussed communities are building spaces where fitness is woven into experiences rather than structured workouts. Among them is Glo Klub, a Chennai-based women’s community that curates weekly activities ranging from swimming, aerial yoga and boxing workshops to pickleball sessions, community runs and other movement-based experiences. 

“We wanted to move in the wellness direction rather than just the fitness direction,” says Sharon Mary Cherian, co-founder, Glo Klub and a strength and conditioning coach, who started the community with Sampreetha Premnath after the pair met through Chennai’s parkour scene. 

Swimming
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Special Arrangement

Unlike traditional fitness spaces centred around a single activity, Glo Klub has been designed around exploration. The founders partner with coaches and venues across the city to introduce women to different forms of movement. The result is a rotating calendar of activities where a woman might find herself trying aerial yoga one weekend, boxing the next, and joining a community swim or pickleball session after that.

For both Sampreetha and Sharon, the goal has never been to get women to commit to a single sport. They aim to create a low-pressure environment where women can experiment, discover what they enjoy, and build consistency through enjoyment rather than obligation. “A lot of women feel intimidated even going to a gym. Unfortunately, sports and fitness are still very male-dominated spaces. We wanted to create a space where it’s just women,” says Sampreetha who is a certified fitness and nutrition coach. 

Workout session by SIS
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Special Arrangement

While many of these communities are attracting younger women looking for friendship, fitness and new experiences, the appeal of sport extends far beyond a single age group. For some women, it is also an opportunity to return to movement later in life. Petulia Balaji, a 61-year-old pickleball player discovered the sport in Chennai nearly a decade ago after a friend introduced her to the sport. What began as casual games in a car park soon turned into something more serious. Today, she competes in tournaments across the country and has won medals at both the State and national level.

“Pickleball has brought out many women who otherwise would never have come out to join a sport. For that one hour, you forget everything else and you’re just focussed on playing and having fun. The health benefits come almost as a by-product because you’re enjoying the game so much,” she says. 

Petulia Balaji
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement

Whether it is football, pickleball, boxing or aerial yoga, the common thread running through these communities is that they offer women something that often disappears in adulthood: the freedom to be beginners without the worry of competition or performance.

In many traditional sporting environments, trying something new can feel intimidating and women-only spaces remove much of that pressure, creating room for participants to learn, make mistakes and improve at their own pace. 

Movement, as a result, has become less about achieving a goal and more about experiencing sheer joy without having to answer a long list of questions by male counterparts regarding a sport in order to just be included.