Shillong: Practice nujua jodi gharatu thakibo nuara (If you don’t go for practice, you can’t enter home)… The words of her husband still ring in her ears as an ecstatic Nayan Moni Saikia describes her sentiments on becoming India’s first ever Lawn Bowls player to bag the prestigious Arjuna Award.
Saikia is simplicity personified! She, along with the other members of the Indian women’s lawn bowls team (Rupa Rani Tirkey, Lovely Choubey and Pinki Singh), became the toast of the nation after clinching the historic gold medal at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham.
Even after the high, Nayan Moni, now a DSP in Assam Police, prefers to stay grounded and doesn’t want to go overboard with her celebrations, as she rightfully describes her Arjuna Award as just a stepping stone to the sport’s prospects in the country.
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“It feels good to become the first ever recipient of the Arjuna Award from the Lawn Bowl community. This award is for the entire fraternity, it’s an acknowledgement of the years of hard work, perseverance, and dedication of all the players, and will work as an inspiration for the newer generation,” Nayanmoni told EastMojo in an interview on Tuesday.
The multi-generational sport has been on the CWG itinerary since 1930, but it was only after the 2022 edition of the quadrennial event, when the Indian quadruple catapulted the sport from anonymity to overnight attention with their exploits at the Victoria Park.
Nayan Moni feels that the sport was concentrated to only a handful of Indians, and not many would give them a chance of making it big, and the award is a befitting way to prove the naysayers wrong.
“For years, people would often ignore and judge the seriousness of the sport, as it’s not an Olympic event, but this honour will instill the belief and trust among people, and encourage parents to push their children towards it. This will only help in building our community of lawn bowls players across the length and breadth of the country,” she said.
“There was a need to change the mindset towards the sport, and I can’t thank the committee and government for encouraging the sport with such a prestigious award at the right time,” she added.
So what’s the way forward for developing this game in the region particularly? Are you open to a mentorship role going forward?
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“There are no lawn bowls specific grounds or training centres in the country or in our region as of now. It is expensive, could go up to the tune of Rs 3-4 crore. I have already spoken to our Chief Minister Dr Himanta Biswa Sarma for a ground somewhere in upper Assam. He is very positive, and supportive. He said he will try to allot one,” she said, while adding she hopes to get one.
“Since we don’t have full time coaches in the country, the senior players are open to a mentorship role to any youngster who comes up for help. We have been doing it regularly, just that such things aren’t highlighted, and even now we help the upcoming players get their techniques right during training sessions,” she said.
Family support paramount
Looking back, Nayan Moni feels it is not only her love and life-long dedication to the sport but also the support of her family that has earned her the name and fame.
Hailing from Sarupathar, about 25-kms from Tokyo bronze medallist Lovlina Borgohain’s Borpothar home, Nayan Moni is happy that two girls from the same district are proud winners of the Arjuna Award. “We come from the same district, faced similar obstacles, but have braved past them, this is a proud moment for the region,” she said.
“Earlier, whatever funds we used to get from the government after winning any tournament, we would save that for the next tournament. We don’t have a solid federation (in the sense of financial strength), and due to that the players are supposed to arrange for themselves. Hopefully that changes,” she added.
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So if you look back, how important do you feel was the support of your family?
“I still remember the days when I was posted as a guard at the Forest department, and many of my colleagues had to either quit the sport due to financial crunch, family pressure, and various reasons, but I was lucky to have the support of my immediate family, especially my in-laws, and my husband (Bhaskar Jyoti Gohain).
“Thankfully, I got a mother-in-law who used to be a sportsperson and represented her school at the national level, even my father-in-law would support by taking me for training. He would wake me up each day after I returned from my office, to remind me of my training. On days when I would hesitate, he would encourage and even travel with me to the centre.
“And my husband has been the strongest pillar of support, he kept me motivated through every thick and thin, highs and lows, even to the extent of not allowing me to enter the house if I skipped training,” she signs off with a hearty laugh, remembering her days of struggle.
Nayan Moni is yet to receive the official invitation from the ministry, but the national awards are most likely to be distributed by President Droupadi Murmu on November 30.
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