This piece was published in Sportskeeda
It won’t
be an unfair statement to make if one wonders whether even journalists would
have known her that well before her exploits at the 7th Junior Women’s
Hockey World Cup in Monchengladbach. For someone who did not play a single
match in India’s World Cup campaign in Germany, it may seem like she was just
making the squad numbers, but the kind of ending she orchestrated it was
nothing short of a fairytale.
Bigan
Soy is now a very much known name in Indian hockey circles, after she pulled
off five superb saves in the bronze medal play-off tie against England to pave
the way for the country’s first-ever medal in the big-ticket event. What makes
the 20-year-old Jharkhand girl’s feat all the more remarkable was the fact that
she carved out a name for herself from those crucial fifteen minutes (duration
of the penalty shootout) after having played no part in regulation time as
regular goalkeeper Ningombam Sanarik Chanu took charge of the Indian cage for
70 minutes.
“I was
under no pressure whatsoever. Sanarik Chanu did a great job in all our matches,
but coaches Neil Hawgood and Narinder Singh Saini told me once we qualified for
the quarterfinals that they are going to field me in case any of our matches from
the quarterfinals onwards had a penalty shootout. I was not required for the
quarterfinal and semifinal matches. So when the bronze medal play-off tie was
extended to a shootout, I was mentally prepared as it did not come as a bolt
from the blue,” Bigan says in an exclusive interview.
The
soft-spoken Jharkhand girl backed her instincts and came out all guns blazing
in the shootout. “I was always confident about my footwork and it worked to a
nicety as I managed to nullify the goal-scoring designs of five English
players. Of course, we also missed a few and it turned into a nerve-jangling
affair before Navneet Kaur settled the issue,” she relives the epochal moment.
Bigan is
enjoying every bit of the limelight bestowed on the women hockey players –
something they are not accustomed to. “I’m really thankful to the central and
state governments for rewarding us with cash awards. Even Hockey Jharkhand gave me a cash award of
Rs 51,000. It feels good to be recognized for our efforts, but I want to see
more jobs for women hockey players. It is important to have a secure job so
that one can fully focus on the game,” she says.
The
Indian junior women's hockey goalkeeper joined the State Authority of India (SAI) centre
in Ranchi in 2006 – a place she honed her hockey skills after starting off as a
promising footballer. “I was a decent football player at Bariatu School in
Ranchi – I used to play football as a forward when I joined SAI, but one day I was asked to don the hockey goalkeeper’s
gloves and there has been no looking back since then,” she takes a walk down
memory lane.
Hailing
from a nondescript Bandgao village in Jharkhand's West Singhbhum district,
Bigan was born to an economically-disadvantaged family – her father is a
farmer, while her mother is a homemaker. “I have two elder brothers – one is
doing police training while another is not working and I am the youngest in the
family,” she says.
Bigan made
her international debut at the 2011 Junior Women’s Under-18 Asia Cup in
Bangkok. “I still remember we won the bronze after defeating the defending
champions Korea 2-0 in the play-off tie. We had lost to Japan who went on to win
the tournament. I played in all the games in Bangkok,” she reminisces.
She was
also part of the Indian team in the 2012 Under-21 Asia Cup also held in
Bangkok, where her team finished runners-up losing 2-5 to China.
A place
in the senior team is her next target. “I’m determined to make it to the senior
women’s hockey team. I know it won’t be easy with so much competition around,
but I will give my best shot. I want to help India win a medal at major events
like the World Cup, Olympics among others,” the bashful lass fired a parting
shot.
Picture: Courtesy www.deccanherald.com
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