An inspirational journey of Sweety Kumari- Rugby Prodigy

A sprinter turned Rugby Player, Sweety Kumari was earlier picked up as 'Continent's Fastest Player' by Asia Rugby. Recently, she has been selected as ' International young player of the Year' by women's Rugby Website ScrumQueens on December 31, 2019. What an achievement, Alas!

Rugby prodigy-Sweety Kumari

She is a sprinter; She flies little above to ground. She passes by like a wind when she runs. Nevertheless, she is a Rugby Prodigy. 

Sweety Kumari, a very ordinary gal with an unusual talent, is from a small village Nawada, Barh district of Patna, Bihar who made to International games, where she was announced as a ‘Continent's Fastest Player’ by Asia Rugby. Later at the end of the year 2019, she was picked as ‘International Young Player of the Year’ by a women rugby website called ScrumQueens.

Sweety Kumari had a quite interesting journey to the international tournaments. A small village girl grew up with a lack of facilities and privileges. Her dad is a handyman while mom works for Aanganwadi.
In an interview, she said, 'My father did support me and put me ahead of others in every way he could.' 'I would ask my coach to lend me spikes and I will prove that I deserve them,' she added.

She ran sprint for school, district, and the state as following her brother’s footsteps but somehow she wasn’t happy with her performance and she couldn’t make up to the international level in athletes. Destiny had chosen something else for her. When she was running 100m dash in 11.58 seconds in an athlete meet, she was spotted by a rugby coach Pankaj Kumar Jyoti who suggested her to play rugby. After understanding the game and becoming good at it, she found taking the ball and run is more enjoyable than just running.

She was only 14 when she was introduced to Rugby. She made her own team and played for the state championship. After three years she was selected for U-17 for the Indian team. 2019 she played for the Indian senior team as a winger. She runs with her pace and power which resulted in scoring highest in most of India's sevens tournaments. As well as scoring two tries that made India win against Singapore in the test match for the first time. She is the star player of India in both sevens and fifteens. She takes giant strides for making herself unbeatable.

'Initially, I could understand just a few terms of rugby at a junior pre-camp like Pass behind, Run in front. Then, American coach Mike Fryday taught me to run wide on the flanks and not get caught by defenders.', she told in an interview.

'I am also very smart to use my mind effectively. My speed is a god gift but I train hard on the rhythm of running and stepping in and out at full speed. I ask my coach and experienced player for techniques and tactics ' She added.

CoachVan Deventer says," she has a tremendous defensive skill that is more valuable than her speed. She can play center." 

In an interview after winning the match and scoring the first position globally, she exclaimed, 'They all try, they come from the front and behind, and pull me. But nobody can match my speed'.

Titles to sweety

Her USP i.e. speed got her title of 'continent's fastest player' by Asia Rugby.
The nickname 'Scoring Machine' is given by her teammates.
India's sevens coach says, 'sweety is a rocket on repeat.' 

'International young player of the year', is given by women's rugby website SrumQeens.

She is challenging herself by adapting two different codes as India doesn't have two separate teams for 7s and 15s. She can learn more or improve her game by fighting against good opposition regularly. She is an inspiration to all the sports aspirants. Her story can inspire youngsters and promote rugby in our country.