A Karateka felled by lack of patronage and remoteness from meaningful information

MEETING UP WITH GEETA THAPA, 1ST DAN BLACK BELT, HOUSEWIFE, FORMER CHAMP...
SUBASH RAI
BOOMPULL [Rinchenpong], 28 March: There is not a dearth of sporting talent in the State. That goes without saying. But what irks ever so often is how so many of them fall by the wayside for want of patronage and guidance, and how, at times, the denial continues because of lack of access to information. Though many claims, assurances and initiatives have been undertaken, there is still much that the concerned departments as well by the various sports-related associations could do to service the sustenance of the sporting spirit in Sikkim.
Such is the story of 29-year-old, 1st Dan Black Belt housewife from Dethang, under Rinchenpong constituency in West Sikkim, Geeta Thapa [Karki]. In  her journey as a sportsperson, one realizes the urgent need to initiate and implement concrete policies which look out for those who excel in sports, but are forced away due to circumstances beyond their control.

Geeta of Dethang has a cupboard full of medals and certificates won in state, national and international events in Karate. She has so many that she cannot even recount them properly anymore and doesn’t have enough space to store them properly. She also probably does not have the time. She has to run a canteen-cum-grocery shop in a rented house at Boompull to earn a living for her family.
Geeta, born into a BPL family in Yongsum-Chingthang GPU [under Hee-Bermoik constituency] in West Sikkim, joined the Shito-Ryu Karate-Do at her school - Kaluk Senior Secondary School dojo in the year 1995, when she was a 13-year-old studying in class IX.
“When coach BB Subba asked who wants to join Karate classes, I was the first to raise my hand,” Geeta told NOW!
“My family didn’t allow me to join the Dojo, but I somehow managed to pay the Rs. 400 joining fee and Rs. 100 monthly fee on my own,” she said, adding that she had to practice after school. Not easy, given that her home was more than 6 km away from the school.
But she persisted, and her interest and dedication bore fruit. Within two months of joining the Dojo, she was selected for her first international tournament.
“Though I didn’t win any medals, but participating in the tournament boosted my confidence and gave me courage to do something better in future,” she said, claiming that the tournament remains an unforgettable memory. It was in Pune.
The same year, she was selected to participate in a national championship held in Rourkela, where, she bagged the first medal of her life - a Silver. After that, she went on to win two bronze medals in an international championship held in Nepal.
“This tournament was the turning point of my life because after it, my family began supporting me,” shares Geeta.
She then started practicing in two categories- Kickboxing and Oko.
“In an international event played in Kurseong in the year 1997, I won two Silver medals, one each in Kickboxing and Oko,” she says proudly.
The year also brought other changes. Geeta passed out of Class X but could not pursue her studies because of the poor economic condition of her family.
“I was left with two options - either discontinue my studies and continue with Karate or vice versa, I chose Karate,” she says.
And, in the year 2000, she was awarded the 1st Dan Black Belt from Allan-Thilak Karate School, recognized by the World Karate Federation. After this, she won gold medals in Coimbatore, Rourkela and Bhubaneshwar.
She, however, feels dejected with the condition of the sportspersons in the State. Till date, she has not received a single sponsorship from the Government.
“Those days were very difficult for us. We had to collect donations to represent the State in national and international tournaments,” she recollects.
She further informs that the Department used to help out when approached. It was, however, embarrassing for the players that the assistance received from the Department used to disbursed under the head ‘donation’.
Her dream got stalled when she got married in 2001.
Now she has an eight-year-old school-going daughter.
“I was forced to stop practicing because I had to look after my family,” she says, adding that to make it possible for her to continue with the sport, her coach had even applied for scholarship on her behalf, but the file went missing.
“Now, I want to pass on my dreams to my daughter,” she says, hoping that she might return to the sport because her husband, relatives and coach are very supportive. What she lacks is an opportunity.
When informed that HRDD was filling up several posts of Physical Education Instructors under the Sarva Sikha Abhiyan/ RTE and that her qualifications matched with the Department’s requirements, she said, “We never get such information because neither newspapers nor local TV channel are accessible to us.”
She suggested that there should be a medium through which people like her, residing in remote villages, are informed in time of such opportunities.