RANCHI: Bigun Soy did not give her coach any chance to regret sending her to the field after a long wait. The girl from Bandgaon in Chaibasa fought till the last to earn Indian junior hockey team bronze in the World Cup in Germany.
Sharing her experiences, Bigun said the only thing she thought about when she got a chance to play in the last match was ‘victory by any means’. “While sending me to the field my coach said ‘We trust you, don’t break our trust’ and that was the one line that kept me going in the match,” said Soy.
Soy said she was a bit disappointed when she was not given a chance to play throughout the tournament but she did not lose hope. She said, “I used to sit and play the match in my mind thinking how to play a particular shot because I knew that I might get a chance anytime.”
Bigun Soy, who arrived at Ranchi for the first time, was welcomed by the members of the Sports Authority of India (SAI).
Hailing from a poor family of Bandgaon village, Chaibasa, Soy said she has not yet been able to talk to her parents after the victory. “They (Soy’s parents) know about my victory but I could contact them as they do not have a phone. They could not even see the match as there is no television at home.”/
Excited about finally meeting her friends and family, Soy said, “They must be really happy. I am also waiting to meet them after a long time. My house is not in a very good condition. When I get some money the first thing I will do is get the house repaired.”
Presently a student of graduation first year in Arts at Birsa College, Khunti, Soy is worried about her examinations which is not more than a month away.
“I want to complete my degree and play simultaneously. I will soon start the preparations for my examination,” she said.
Talking about how she developed interest in playing Hockey, Soy said, “I was always fascinated by hockey when I used to see senior girls at school play hockey but the fascination developed into passion when I saw the papers after Women Hockey team of India won the Commonwealth Games 2002. When I saw photographs of players holding the flag and cheering I knew I wanted to be one of them.”
On being asked what she expected from the government Soy replied, “My work was bringing the medal home and I did it. Now the rest is in the hands of the government.”