MUSCAT: One of the two Indian women other than Savita led hockey team here in the Asia Cup congregation is Rohini Bopanna. The 41-year old former player is Judge, doing assorted kind of supervisory activities that go with conduct of any tournament. The other Indian is umpire Shweta Patel.
Hailing from hockey provenance Coorg in Karnataka State, Rohini played as pivot in her sports hostel team before moving to main striker for the State team. She represented Karnataka State team in the Senior National Championships, besides taking part in various invitational all India tournaments being the incumbent of the popular Sports Hostel, Mysore.
FIH Judge Rohini Bopanna during her playing days
After playing career, she chose to work in a private sector and got into family mode. But her hockey passion continued at home, boosted with her marriage to international hockey star B U Bopanna. He is playing for the prestigious domestic giant Bharat Petroleum Corpn, Ltd (BPCL).
Rohini started her second innings after giving birth to her son, who is now 14-year old.
“It was my family who supported when I had a baby so that I could focus on officiating in the domestic tournament to start with”. Recently, she supervised as Technical Delegate the Hockey India Senior Women’s National (Jhansi) and Junior Nationals.
She got her first international assignment as official for the 2016 South Asian Federation Games (SAF Games) held in Guwahati. Thereafter, she did not look back, went on to scale another high every step.
Presently, doing duty in the prestigious quadrennial Women’s Asia Cup in Muscat where Indian team is at present struggling – lost the semifinal to South Korea.
She relishes every moment the new job entails – scrutiny of equipment and team’s data prior to matches, or alternating roles as Scoring Judge or Timing Judge.
Rohini Bopanna (r) with colleagues at the ongoing Muscat Women’s Asia Cup
“Each tournament is a learning exercise”, says the smiling Rohini on asked whether she is now set in these roles. A streak of humble student in her oozes.
Why did you chose a career where not much monetary returns are not at stake, her retort is: “will like to be with the sport I loved in my youth”.
Her interest in the chosen path is well manifest in her growth graph. She is now in the FIH’s Advanced Panel. As of now, globally there are only 13 women in the category. This she scaled after getting promoted twice.
Noticing her sincerity, she was given many international assignments cutting across genre, gender & continents – indoor, outdoor – that stretches upto a dozen engagements so far. Major posting she got include both Asia Cup & Asian Champions Trophy twice, besides men and women’s indoor Asia Cups and Pro-league.
Other upward steps in any official include International Elite Panel, Pro League Panel and then the summit, the World Cup panel.
She is cautious in predicting future. Though one can say sky is limit for the aspiring female athlete.