In tribal-dominated Maoist-hit Palamu district of Jharkhand, the first choice for sport is obviously archery or football, but Hoshana Topno is an exception.
In tribal-dominated Maoist-hit Palamu district of Jharkhand, the first choice for sport is obviously archery or football, but Hoshana Topno is an exception.
There was no infrastructure but Hoshana, picked up a racket eight years ago and now she is now the No 1 shuttler in the state, aspiring to be among the top-notch in the country.
About eight years ago, the Palamu District Badminton Association during a tournament spotted and then nurtured the raw talent.
Now, Hoshana, 21, is the No 1 in Jharkhand, having stunned state champion Insha Imam in the women's singles final of the State Championship to earn her ticket to the inter-state meet held recently in Nainital.
"She is one of the promising shuttlers from Jharkhand. It's a first that a tribal community girl upset state champion to represent the state inter-state meet," secretary of the Jharkhand Badminton Association (JBA) K Prabhakar Rao said.
"I am very much confident that Hoshana has enough potential to become among top 10 shutters in the country. She has the temperament but what she lacks is fitness. She needs proper guidance at the moment," Rao said.
Hoshana, who just completed her graduation, got her first claim to fame in the state when she upset the then defending champion Uma Rani Palit of Ranchi enroute to the single's title in the last edition of the state championship, Rao said.
Keeping her potential in view, Rao said the JBA had recently sent Hoshana and Imam to undergo a month-long training under a reputed coach Murali Krishna in Visakhapatnam.
It was not only Hoshana, her brother too is into the badminton and the duo had won the mixed doubles title in state championship in 2007 and had finished runners-up in the East Zone Inter-State Championship in Cuttack last year, said president of Palamu District Badminton Association Santosh Singh Namdhari.
The district association is planning to develop an indoor stadium to develop the sport in the region.
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