It’s a proud movement for the State that Asia Rugby Sevens Girls U18 Championship is being hosted at the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar, Odisha. For the first time such a prestigious tournament being hosted in India by Rugby India. It brings me extreme joy to state that five girls from the Kalinga Institute of Social Sciences (KISS) are selected to play in the Indian team. It is a matter of pride for the institute and Odisha and my heart swells with pride with this empowerment.
The atmosphere that the Asian rugby games have created in Bhubaneswar is tremendous and overpowering as international teams and players unite over the course of the tournament.
This is a moment of triumph for Odisha and its rich legacy in sports and CM Naveen Patnaik’s vision to promote Odisha as the sports destination of India. Under his leadership, a conducive ecosystem for hosting national and international sports has been created in Odisha.
If Odisha is the nursery for producing sporting talents in India, the KISS is the cradle of sports in Odisha. Odisha consists of 24% tribal population. The KISS now supports 27,000 students from grades one through graduate training along with vocational training, skill development, academia, sports, and culture.
The priority given to sports in KISS is unmatchable and the result is epic. Over 5,000 athletes have played national and international tournaments over 100 different events giving the mileage those sports desperately need in this country. This includes the participation in Olympics, Commonwealth and Asian Games. But when it comes to rugby, the KISS means rugby; and when you talk about rugby, one remembers the KISS. Both are synonymous to each other.
The KISS has created popularity of the sport that had no identity in Odisha. The KISS busted the myth in the perception that rugby was a game of the elite Western world and not suited to Indian climes with the brilliant display of wit, planning, strategising and strength.
Rugby as a sport requires a lot of strength both mental and physical. When it comes to the students of KISS, they are genetically gifted with the mental and physical endurance, which is required to play and win the sport. We introduced rugby; students loved the sport; and since then, there has been no looking back.
In 2005, we brought in State-level coaches to train our students and then promoted to national-level coaches for further guidance and training. When the students became extremely passionate about the sport, we brought international coaches for rigorous training. Finally, KISS players aged 12 to 13 represented the Indian team to play the World Rugby Championship in London in 2007. It was indeed an epoch-making event in the history of rugby and KISS as they emerged as champions; and rest is history.
I personally visited them, paid my regards and fulfilled all the necessities of the budding rugby players who were going to represent India because it was their first-ever grand tournament. I oversaw the stitching of their suits, see them flaunting it with pride and preparing them for victory or lesson. The risk involved in their entourage because of the pressure they had on them of representing India, going out to new places, adjusting with the climatic condition and the other territorial pressures were large; and we mustered up all the courage to do it. The team faced all odds and emerged as winners.
Winning the tournament in a European setting by these children who had never had the occasion of seeing their own State’s capital, Bhubaneswar, was indeed an eye-opener and established beyond doubt the belief that given the right opportunity, these communities who mastered such a game much of which is yet to be seen in India could do wonders.
I was extremely proud of KISS students who defeated 10 countries to win and raise the flags of Odisha and India. I flew down to Kolkata to receive the entire team where we dined at a five-star hotel. I personally motivated them to beat all odds. After 2007, both boys and girls have played many national and international rugby games and brought accolades for the country. The KISS has been an undisputed rugby hub.
Fast forward to 2018. All the dignitaries from rugby, Pramod Khanna, president of Rugby Association, Priyadarshi Mishra, president, and Upendra Mohanty, secretary of Odisha Rugby Football Association, have acknowledged our contribution to this game. Rahul Bose has frequently visited the KISS and patronised rugby.
Sumitra Nayak, currently Vice-Captain of U-19 India Girls Rugby Team, has travelled five countries and addressed in the TEDx Conference besides winning many national and international events. A school dropout, Sumitra, escaped a fire in her house and braved most tumultuous times to become what she is today. She was also nominated for Youth Peace Prize.
Muna Murmu, the star in the Jungle Crow in 2007, is a coach in KISS, producing more success stories like him. Hailing from a primitive tribal community of Odisha has not deterred Muna from scaling new highs in the sporting arena.
After his solid performance in Under-16 National Tournament, he was selected for the Indian U-19 Team in 2010. After making his senior international debut in 2013, Muna is a permanent winger in the side because of his skills to run fast. Recently, he played for Team India in the Asian Rugby Championship Division-2 in Taiwan.
Hupi Majhi has won her international last year. This was the second time she was the top try scorer at an international tournament and the third consecutive occasion where she top-scored for her team. At the Asia Rugby Development Sevens Series, she scored a whopping 11 tries in five matches and was the lone Indian scorer at the Sevens Series in Sri Lanka. All with a five-foot height, and weighing just over 50 kg. Her strength, however, is speed and reading of the game.
Bhagyalxmi Barik was the first from KISS to represent the Indian team. She has won several gold medals in rugby and was the captain of the team when Odisha created a hattrick.
After years of oppression and exploitation when I see the redemption of tribal kids through sports, especially rugby, I have a state of bliss and content.
When our CM announced that Asian Rugby Games would be held in Odisha, I had a similar bliss running through my conscience. I am sure the entire State would bask in its glory and such stories of hope continue in Odisha through the catalyst called KISS.
(Dr Samanta is Founder, KIIT & KISS)