Thakur Nagar, West Bengal, India (July 12, 2024)

Transcript:

Namaskar, I am Tuhina Parvin, I study in Banipur PGGIPE college. I am doing my BPEd (Bachelor of Physical Education) now. I play football and have also played handball. I have been an athlete since my childhood and now I am a football referee. I am from Uludanga, Amdanga area in Barasat. Since my childhood I had interest in sports. More than my studies, I always liked to go out and play in the locality. As I was neglecting my studies, my mother decided to find me a proper place where I could train. So when I was in my 7th standard, my mother got me admitted in an athletics camp. I used to do well in athletics but I did not get a good coach. There were no good coaches in the rural areas. Once I went to represent my school in a state-level tournament. A coach asked me if I wold train in SAI ( Sports Authority of India), Kolkata. But there was no place for me in Kolkata. But it was impossible for me to travel that far from my village and attend the camp at 6 in the morning everyday. I went for two months but could not continue. After that I joined a training centre in Barasat and used to practice athletics there. When I joined college, one of our teachers told us that there was a football trial. I told him that I had never played football and did not know much about it. My teacher advised me to go for the trial and take a chance. I got selected. This is how I started playing football. While I was playing I felt that I also wanted to be a football referee. In 2018 I joined CRA (Calcutta Referees’ Association) in Kolkata and so now I am recognized as a referee by AIFF. I eventually got selected in the University football team. Subsequently, I also played East Zone and then joined a football camp. I wish to be a national- level referee in future. If I perform well, I would want to be a FIFA- recognised referee. I was born in the village but my mother grew up in the city. Even though my father did not like it much, my mother always encouraged me in sports. I got full support from my mother and later also from my father. Now everybody in my family supports me, but many in my village look down upon me. They say I am not like a woman. I dress and behave like a man. If the girls hold themselves back because of such criticisms, they can never move forward. I want to tell everybody that if you really work hard, you will surely move forward.