Nayagarh: National level gold medal-winner Rugby player Sujata Pradhan is gripped by acute poverty and finds it difficult to arrange two meals a day. There were days when she was scoring goals by holding a rugby ball in her hand and pushing the opponents behind her. But currently, she is engulfed by the scarcity of basic necessities and helplessness. Pradhan, with a nine-member family to support, is struggling day and night to come out of the clutches of poverty as the woman athlete is passing through a miserable stage of life. Her fate and future are now confined to the four walls of her house.
Sujata belongs to Girinda village of Patia panchayat under Ranapur block in Nayagarh district of Odisha. She was born in Padasahi village of Raghunathpur Panchayat of Cuttack district. Since childhood, she was interested in sports and while playing games, she was attracted to Rugby, a popular game played in western countries.
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When contestants were being chosen for various games at the Padasahi High School, Sujata was selected for the Rugby game. She started her journey from Padasahi of Baranga and reached the campus of the KIIT University crossing Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar. Thereafter, athlete Sujata was able to garner more and more success in Rugby game. Because of her dedication and hard labour, she was able to win a gold medal as a member of the Rugby team in the National Games held at Kerala in 2015. Chasing her dreams, she also reached England when she was a seventh standard student.
However, after marrying Prabhat Pradhan from Nayagarh district who was a labourer and daily wage earner, her miserable financial condition has stood as a thorn on the path of her dreams. Since, Girinda village, where she resides, is located in an inaccessible area, it is difficult to get regular employment there. The family of Sujata is passing days in a low height mud-built thatched house having three rooms. They are also deprived of getting any financial assistance from the state government.
Despite all these odds, her love for rugby is still alive and she hopes to achieve fame and pride for her state if she gets some financial assistance from the government. She needs the government's attention towards before her talent fades away. There is not an iota of doubt that the indigenous players would lose their interest in foreign games and their aspirations would be shattered if they are not backed by the administration.
