Dharmananda Bhoi, the captain of rugby team of KISS. Telegraph picture

Balangir, Aug. 2: Dharmananda Bhoi, a 13-year-old rugby player from Balangir, has proved that it’s not impossible for someone with humble beginnings to score big wins.

The son of a daily wage labourer from Badangomuda, Dharmananda has achieved the envious feat of captaining his school in rugby at an international tournament held in Manchester in England earlier this month. His team even emerged champions of the tournament.

A Class IX student of Kalinga Institute of Social Sciences (KISS) in Bhubaneswar, Bhoi had a flair for sports from a very young age. He enjoyed playing kabaddi, kho-kho and cricket.

Going from strength to strength in rugby, Bhoi captained the under-13 team of school at the international rugby event where his team defeated Thailand in the final of the seven-a-side tournament.

“I am very excited to have won the tournament. We defeated England, Trinidad and Tobago and South Africa to reach the final. In the final match, we were pitted against Thailand and emerged victorious. It feels good to play and perform so well in a game that is not popular in India,” Bhoi said.

Even as a 10-year-old, he was a favourite in his village, excelling in the traditional game of chhoor. Today he has turned into an icon of sorts for kids of his village.

“All of us love sports and Dharmananda has shown us that we can become good sportsmen if we have the will,” said a young boy of his neighbourhood.

Radhakanta Pradhan, a villager who has known Bhoi for a long time, said the boy had a natural instinct for sports ever since he knew him.

“He used to play choor, a traditional sport. His father is handicapped and the family survives on the pension of his widowed grandmother. Being from such a background it seems like a dream that the boy travelled to England and brought glory not only to his village and school, but the whole country,” Pradhan said.

Rudrakesh Jena, the sports officer of Bhoi’s school, described the victory as historic and attributed the success to the captain of the team, Dharmananda.

“He has brilliant speed and immense stamina. As a captain, he is also an excellent strategist. The team outclassed all other teams in the tournament. He played in a key position as the scrum-half of his team and always performed well to score a win for his team,” said the sports officer.