Early in the morning, when most adolescents his age are in deep slumber, 16-year-old Roshan Singh starts pedalling to a nearby field. A tee and shorts and a pair of worn out shoes is all that he carries to warm up and begin his ‘untrained’ fitness regime. He jogs, skips, runs and stretches during a rigorous one-hour schedule.

Aware that a fitness regime alone doesn’t give him stamina to pursue the game and that he needs good food and training to excel in the game, he has no option, neither does he have complaints. He has made truce with destiny – to live life the way it comes to him since he cannot change the circumstances back home at this tender age. Meet Roshan Singh, from district headquarters town Bolangir, who was the 2015 sub-junior state champion in badminton. A magic to watch out for in the courts, his technique of playing – not many his age can beat, he attributes to have learnt from Youtube channels.

Born to a family of six that sustains by selling Gupchup (a street snack), Roshan Singh has, for the time being, left his dreams remain dreams only. For someone, who doesn’t have a glass of milk, let alone nutritious sports drink required for an emerging sportsperson, thinking about anything else does not hold any meaning. He doesn’t have a racquet to play the game but one of his friends has been kind enough to lend one for his daily practice.

“I had bought a racquet saving from my pocket money before my championships in 2015 but the gut strings have been damaged and now only the frame head remains. Neither can I get it repaired nor do I have the money to buy another one. Championships are ahead but I’m not worried because there is little I can do at this age,’’ says Roshan while practicing at the Rajendra Indoor stadium in the town.

The stadium is shabby to say the least, with hardly any cleanliness carried out since ages, has lighting issues with just one court, and doesn’t have an accredited trainer to coach the talents plus floors are in dilapidated condition. And all this despite the fact that Bolangir is known as the badminton cradle of Odisha that has produced some of the best talents in the game. ‘’I have mostly learnt the game by watching my seniors play. There are no coaches nor anyone to give us the tricks of the trade,’’ says Roshan who looks up to Chinese Malaysian player Lee Chong Wei as his role model besides naming one or two seniors he practices with.

Roshan is equally good at academics and is presently pursuing Plus Two first year commerce in Rajendra College, Bolangir. He had secured 9.4 CGPA in his 10th CBSE board exams. However, studies have never fascinated him as much as sports.

But his talent in all kinds of sports, particularly badminton, was also a surprise for his family. ‘’It was only after he won the sub-junior state championships that we got to know from friends and relatives that he got a rousing reception at Bolangir railway station when he returned to town after winning. We always knew he played the game as he used to play chess and other games. But we never knew he would become a state champion. Because he is mostly silent at home and doesn’t talk much,’’ says Roshan’s sister.

After morning practice, he leaves for college but is soon back at home to lend a helping hand to his father and others in family, all of whom get busy in preparing for the evening eatery stall. Earning Rs 500 every day, the family of six, faces hardships each passing day. ‘’Roshan’s achievement has made us all proud but we feel bad that we have not been able to provide him basic requirements of the game as it’s very expensive. We stay in rented house and pay Rs 5000 as rent, the rest is all spent in managing food and basic necessities. We hope he gets some support from somewhere to go farther in the game and makes the nation proud,’’ say his parents with a heavy heart.

Soon after helping the family, Roshan leaves for his practice to the stadium that has still not been taken over by the sports department even after years of its completion. Despite issues bogging the place, none of the officials has paid any attention to improve things for players of the place. Managing sufficient shuttlecock for the players is also a problem, sources said.

But Roshan reaches there sharp at 2 pm, warms up and soon wears his torn shoes and holds his ‘borrowed’ racquet to begin the game. It’s nothing less than magic to see the finesse with which the young player, who has never been formally trained in the game, sways to every kind of shot – plays forehand, backhand and leaves no opportunity to smash.

“As long as my friend supports me in just providing a racquet to practice, I have no problem. But I would also like to have proper shoes and at least one racquet to practice,’’ says Roshan with a feeling of remorse in his voice.

“He would be the star to look out for in 2019 but he needs to prepare for that. Right now he has been a little laid back with not much vigour and stamina. Neither is food being taken care of, nor does he have proper sports discipline to follow. Infrastructure is too poor with only one court to practice for all players,’’ says the district badminton association secretary Suru Matari.

As soon as the clock strikes 6 pm, Roshan cycles back to daily market to help his father serve Gupchup to all customers in the same gear that he practiced in. Equally deft at serving different varieties of Gupchup to customers, Roshan helps his father till the rush reduces.

“I have many things at heart, but my family’s financial condition doesn’t allow me to even think or share. Because I know no one can share my problems or solve them. So I have left everything on destiny. I will take a day at a time and not think about future,’’ he signs off while cycling back home.

Given the situation, Roshan lives in and constraints that hit him, unless some help pours in, the emerging sports talent will cease to be a face in the crowd.

Source: odishatv.in

Abject poverty has disturbed her childhood true, but never deterred her spirit to excel. She chose to soar in academics and she did. Something, she as a 16-year-old, understands can get back dignity to her family and give them a decent livelihood, maybe few years from now.

Aiming to be a doctor, Aishwarya Mishra, has her eyes set on a goal. Preparing for the flight, she became the topper in State Board of Secondary Education’s Class 10 examinations in eight districts and also secured third rank in the state in 2017. She braved all odds – from an ailing father to ageing grandparents, a brother who studies in class 9, and adverse circumstances including financial hardship. The only ray of hope for her has been her mother, home maker, who she looks up to as an inspiration.

‘’For me studying hard was important. I knew I had performed well but never knew I would top in eight districts,’’ says Aishwarya who appeared her 10^th from Harihar Uccha Vidyalaya, Jogsarada, 27 kms from Bolangir.

It was one of her teachers who could see the spark in Aishwarya and knew her socio-economic condition. He put a word to the director of one of the private Plus Two colleges in Bolangir town for getting her a seat in a crash course that prepares students to choose a career. This was even before she appeared her board exams. She cleared the exam with 97.6 percent marks. She is presently a student of the same Plus Two College – JITM under the flagship Centurion University, all her expenses borne by the college.

‘’I have done the job of a teacher. I wanted a good talent to be nurtured. So when I took my daughter for admission to the institute, I spoke to the director about Aishwarya and he immediately obliged,’’ says Ashok Kumar Tripathy, her school teacher who has been seeing the girl perform exceptionally since she took admission in the school in Standard 8. Similar sentiments were echoed by another teacher, who had spent a lot of time with the girl to tutor her privately along with a group of students. ‘’She has been exceptional and I knew she would make us all proud. I too come from a difficult background and I could feel her difficulties. So I offered her all possible help in clearing her doubts,’’ says her tutor in class X.

Born and brought up in Jogsarada village, Aishwarya has seen the worst when even fending four square meals a day was difficult for her family. Lost in her own world most of times, she leads a cocooned existence. Or maybe circumstances have made her silent. However, she opens up after a little prodding.

“I want to become a doctor and help all the poor like me in remote areas. These days we rarely find a doctor who is ready to work in remote areas. I want to change that opinion,’’ says a confident Aishwarya.

She stays in hostel these days and meets her parents once a week on Sundays. But she also feels a little depressed at times. ‘’I wanted to study in BJB college in Bhubaneswar or Ravenshaw in Cuttack because I have grown up hearing that these colleges produce good students. But I had to be satisfied as my circumstances did not permit me to go far and study,’’ says she, adding, ‘’I have grown up amidst financial constraints but all have helped me tide over my difficulties. Like they say, where there is a will, there is a way.’’

Agreeing no less, her mother also gets teary eyed when she speaks about the earning of the family that barely meets their needs. ‘’With hardly Rs 5000 to Rs 6000 from our land which is again handed over to sharecroppers, we have no option left. Aishwarya’s father does puja at many homes as we are Brahmins and also cooks at community gatherings to add to the family income. It’s a hardship that has been breaking us from within,’’ she says.

Her school teachers were overwhelmed to see her back in the school. The school children too were upbeat to meet the petite girl who had created a record for the school. ‘’She is an example for all the students and we always noticed a spark in her though she was always morose for her family’s financial stress. But in classes she has been the best and in debates none can beat her,’’ says the headmaster of higher secondary school Krushna Chandra Nath. She will be specially felicitated by the school during the golden jubilee celebrations this year.

At the Plus Two College, she is looked after with lot of care and gets the best of training. Regular science classes apart, she also attends special coaching classes that make her ready for all kinds of entrances. ‘’I also speak to her at regular intervals. She is very keen on securing full marks always and has been very hard working. In the first term exams she has secured good marks. She has not been able to mingle much with her peer group and I would not blame her. She needs a lot of care and also exposure which we will try to give her,’’ says Pradeep Kumar Sarangi, Director of JITM.

A day in her life begins with getting ready in the college hostel early in the morning to attend special coaching classes. She attends her regular classes and eats in her college canteen before going for her classes in the afternoon sessions. Though she concentrates mostly on studies, she also loves reading autobiographies – Abdul Kalam’s Wings of Fire being her favourite besides Swami Vivekananda’s life.

Dreaming of a bright future Aishwarya fondly recollects her memories of school days when she used to cycle her way to classes. ‘’She has been a silver lining in our cloudy life. If need be, I will borrow money to help her get through the toughest of all exams and any course she wants to pursue,’’ says her father.

However, for Aishwarya, her dilapidated mud and tiled house in Jogasarda seems to be the best place, which she revisits at intervals to meet her family, brother and mother. The house that reminds her that she has to go a long way to transform it into a castle of her dreams.

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