Gunning for rugby glory, from streets to nat’l stage
Times of India | 26 January 2025
Kolkata: Sukumar Hembram, now 26, was spotted as an infant on a street in Howrah by an NGO that raised him. Eventually, he was mentored by Paul Walsh, a former British diplomat who has been instrumental in grooming rugby talents in the city. The youth, an ace rugby player now, is set to represent Bengal in the upcoming 38th National Games to be held in Dehradun from Jan 28.
Hembram is not alone; 23 other youngsters, mostly from underprivileged families, are setting their sights on bringing gold for Bengal. They are slated to set out for Dehradun on Sunday.
"We have been practising rugby for nearly two months. We are confident that we will be able to put our best foot forward in the tournament," said Hembram.
On Saturday, the Bengal Rugby Football Union encouraged the players at Calcutta Cricket and Football Club and distributed jerseys. Two teams — men's and women's — from Bengal will compete with players from other states like Uttarakhand, Odisha, Bihar, Maharashtra, Delhi, Tamil Nadu and Kerala.
Bengal Rugby Football Union president Lav Jhingan said: "The Bengal men's team is seeded two, and the women are the fourth seed. Both the teams have worked very hard, and most of them are from Future Hope, a school for the underprivileged."
Jhingan said the union was planning to come up with a rugby academy in the city. Indrajit Mookerjee, vice-chairman of Texmaco Rail and Engineering who sponsored a part of their travel and logistics expenses, said: "We always want to be part of an initiative where young sporting talents can be groomed. We have initiated a sports development project. There needs to be govt support for promoting young rugby talents."
Rima Oraon from Siliguri, whose parents are tea garden workers, stays at Future Hope. She will represent Bengal in the women's category. "We won bronze in 2023. We want to be the champions this time," said the 25-year-old. "We are also aiming for the trophy," echoed Arpan Chhetri, 26.