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A rugby match in progress at Armoury grounds in Jamshedpur on Sunday. Picture by Bhola Prasad
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Two weeks ago, Rakesh Gorai had not heard of the word rugby. On Sunday, the student of Middle School, Ghorabandha, not only played the game, but also became the best player.
As many as 84 students from Classes VI to IX of six schools of Jamshedpur and nearby areas played the rich man’s game, courtesy an inter-school rugby tournament organised at Armoury grounds by Sailen Tudu, who is promoting the sport among tribal children in Jharkhand, in association with an NGO, Uprum.
Prior to the finale, the children were trained for about a week. And the good news is that some of these young players can further hone their skills.
“The children were so energetic and played wonderfully. Although I just taught them the basics of rugby, they picked up the game really well, that too in such short time. We have drawn up a list of names and might select some of them for further training,” said Sailen, who coached the boys and girls.
The six participating schools were Adarsh Madhya Vidyalaya, Sarjamda; Sidhu Kanhu Memorial High School, Shankarpur; Madhya Vidyalaya, Karandih; Oriya School, Bagantola; Madhya Vidyalaya, Ghorabandha; and Sidho Kanhu Murmu High School, Kedo. Each school was represented by girls’ and boys’ teams. Adarsh Madhya Vidyalaya, Sarjamda, emerged the champions in both categories.
The students received encouragement from deputy chief minister and sports minister Sudesh Mahto, who kicked off the match as the chief guest, senior manager of Tata Steel’s sports department Charles Borromeo, who was present at the concluding ceremony, and Paul Walsh, founder of Calcutta-based rugby team Jungle Crows.
For Sailen, who has met more than 200 tribal students from rural East Singhbhum to promote rugby, the game has just begun. He is planning to take the game to six more new schools the next time with help from Uprum.
“First, we want the children to love the game. The three things that you need for playing rugby are agility, speed and quickness,” added Sailen, a village lad from Bengal’s Bankura who went to make it big in rugby after coming under Walsh’s wings.
Walsh, a former diplomat with the British deputy high commission in Calcutta, too was impressed with the students’ enthusiasm. “They have passion. They can do well not only in rugby, but any other sport,” he said.
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