A day after helping Odisha defend the women’s team rugby crown at the 37th National Games in Goa, Nirmalya Rout, one of the mainstays of the team, hopes that their performance will open the doors for national selection in the near future. The Odisha team defended their gold medal after handing out a 12-7 defeat to Bihar in the women’s team final, held at the Bambolim Stadium here.
Hailing from Bargarh, one of the most backward districts of Odisha, Nirmalya has battled several odds before taking up rugby professionally with the hope of uplifting the standards of her family.
Nirmalaya’s father Vasudev Raut is a farmer while her mother is a housewife. Apart from her parents, she has two siblings, a brother and sister.
“My childhood was very difficult, the financial condition of the family was not good and we were three brothers and sisters, it was difficult to survive in such a situation without much facilities,” she said.
Vasudev, despite his constraints, somehow managed to send his daughter to Bhubaneswar to study. Along with studies, Nirmalaya also took up sports which is helping to have a name in the circuit today.
On the advice of her father, she left the village and headed towards Bhubaneswar, where she took admission at the Kalinga Institute of Social Sciences and it was there that she saw the game for the first time. Nirmalaya says, “When I came to Bhubaneswar for the first time, I saw this game. I liked it and got engrossed in it. Now I see my bright future in it.”
“Ever since I started playing rugby, my family’s financial condition has gradually improved and I now want to give a better future to my siblings and represent the country in the same game.
The 18-year-old, who was part of the Asian Rugby Under-18 Championship (Kathmandu) silver medal-winning team, also revealed one of her biggest fears.
“I feel a little scared before every match, but as soon as the first match is over, the excitement of winning automatically fills me. And seeing the enthusiasm of the team, I get the courage to compete boldly.”
Even though she was a part of the gold-medal winning Odisha team at the 36th National Games in Gujarat, Nirmalya’s first major break came as a leader in the Khelo India University Games, when she led her team to a gold in Rugby Sevens in Uttar Pradesh earlier this year.
“I have also played in Junior National and Senior Nationals for Odisha. The Junior National was held in Bihar in 2022. In that, our team got the second position whereas, in the 36th National Games (Gujarat), Odisha’s team was the champion and won the gold medal,” Nirmalya said.
Having accomplished her dreams of representing her state and defending their national title, Nirmalya is eyeing a spot in the national team, “That is a dream, I’m living for. Representing the country is a dream of every athlete and so is mine,” she said before signing off.