Sandhya Rani Tudu’s dreams found wings this year. The 19-year-old travelled to France to represent India in the FISU World University Championships Rugby Sevens.
Sandhya was born in the quaint village of Radhikasole in Odisha’s Mayurbhanj, a tribal district bordering West Bengal and Jharkhand. Her rugby journey began when she wasin class six. All Sandhya wants is to make it to the senior national team and land a state government job. She knows it is no lofty dream; her elder sister Jyotsna excelled in swimming and secured a state government job.
The Tudu sisters may seem an exception in a tribal hamlet, but they are just one among the several success stories at Future Stars Sports Academy (FSSA) in Baripada, the district headquarters. This hub, under the patronage of Dibyaranjan Das, is one of the few centres in Mayurbhanj that offers training in rugby, archery and swimming to spirited teenagers.
Das, who was a physical trainer at a government school, founded the FSSA in 2017 at the Mayurbhanj Law College ground with just five students. He had one goal—engage children across Mayurbhanj, where 58 per cent of the population belongs to the scheduled tribes, in sports.
This story is from the October 20, 2024 edition of THE WEEK India.
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This story is from the October 20, 2024 edition of THE WEEK India.
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