International player ventures into forest for livelihood, hockey body helps out

Ranchi: Eighteen-year-old Sangeeta Kumari from Karangagudi Nayatoli village in Simdega district has represented India in the Under-18 Asia Cup and played in several national and international hockey tournaments. But during the lockdown, she is busy collecting firewood from the nearby forest to keep the wooden chulha in her home burning.
Born to a family of farmers, Sangeeta said they had run out of money long ago and her parents often worked as daily wagers to make their ends meet. She said, “Our village does not have proper roads or drinking water facilities till date. Majority of the villagers do not have electricity and other basic facilities despite the tall claims by the government.”
Simdega is known as the hockey nursery of the state and has produced several national and international players, including Sangeeta. However, the condition of most players in this underdeveloped district is pathetic and the lockdown has hit them hard.
Moved by her plight, Hockey Jharkhand, the apex body of the game in the state, donated a cooking gas cylinder and a stove to Sangeeta’s family.
Talking to TOI, Hockey Jharkhand vice-president Manoj Konbegi said, “From our end, we decided it is our responsibility to help our cadet and visited Sangeeta’s house on Monday. We provided a gas cylinder and a stove to help her family avoid the hassles of going to the forest and enduring smoke from the chulha.”
He added, “Her family has eight members and is in acute poverty. Players like Sangeeta should be on the field playing hockey and not venturing out into the forest to collect firewood.”
Thanking the association, Sangeeta said, “At least, my mother and sisters won’t have to battle with smoke while cooking food and I will be spared of going to jungles to collect firewood.”
Konbegi, who is also the general secretary of Hockey Simdega, informed that there are several national and international players in the district who are struggling due to lack of proper patronage. He added that the Hockey Jharkhand has asked all its district units to prepare a list of players who are facing problems due to the lockdown.
Hockey Jharkhand president Bholanath Singh said, “I have asked all district units to conduct a survey and prepare a list of players battling odds during the crisis so that we can take up their case with the state government and support them at the earliest.”