Indian women's Rugby team has been putting impressive performances and are establishing themselves as a rising force off late and Sweety Kumari, the wonder girl from Bihar is one of the important flag bearers of this change. With her several match winning performances, the 20 year old has established a name for herself in the World of Rugby with sheer hard work, grit and determination and is often looked upon as a future Rugby legend.

Born in Nawada village of Bihar, the Indian winger took up sports at an early age alongside her brother. Despite playing Rugby like she was born to play it, the rising star in an exclusive interview with SPOGO revealed Rugby wasn't her first choice of sport and was introduced to it by Mr. Pankaj Kumar Jyoti, Secretary, Rugby Football Association of Bihar. She said, "I was initially into Athletics and was introduced to Rugby only in 2014 when I had gone to participate in a state level athletics event. There I came across Pankaj Kumar Jyoti sir who recommended the sport to me and suggested I would do well in it. I told him I wasn't aware of the game but he assured me to give it a try and that's how I started playing Rugby."

Overcoming challenges is an important aspect of becoming a successful athlete. However, alongside the physical, financial and infrastructural challenges in India's sporting culture, the female athletes in our country also have to defy the cultural and social ones to realise their dreams. Speaking about her set of challenges Sweety commented, "There are many challenges an athlete faces, especially when you hail from a small village. You are not allowed to wear t-shirts and shorts and can't leave the house easily. There is a shortage of good grounds and players have to travel 70-75 kilometres in trains to reach them."

Sweety also has the distinctive honour of being the only Indian and Asian to claim the title of the ‘International Young Player of the Year'. When asked about how proud she is of the achievement she said, "I felt really proud as no Indian had ever achieved this feat before. Not just from India, I'm also the first player from Asia to be bestowed with this honour and therefore it is even more special," Highlighting the core values of Rugby and like a true team player, she did not forget to mention her teammates and immediately added "I received tremendous support from my teammates and that's the reason why I could achieve all this."

Responding to the question about her nickname the 'Scoring Machine' and her best memory so far, Sweety fondly shared "Yes my teammates call me the 'Scoring Machine' and there are many memorable on field moments with them but the most special one was our test match against Singapore which we won from a very difficult position. We had scripted history by winning that game so that would be my most memorable pick."

Not just that, in a display of her leadership skills and the will to undertake gritty initiatives, Sweety had come up with her own team at the age of just 14! Elaborating on the story she said, "When I first started playing I thought the existing team wasn't performing well and I always felt the need of having a quality side from Bihar to represent in the National Championships so that we could win Gold Medals. Therefore I decided to speak to sir (Mr. Pankaj Kumar Jyoti) about it and expressed my will to lead the side and he agreed along with handing me the captaincy of Bihar. From there on I decided to lead from the front and work towards building a great side."

Sharing her thoughts about Indian Rugby and the things needed to be done in order for it to compete with teams like New Zealand and England, she said, "I think the Indian Women’s Rugby team is quite good, we are performing consistently and winning medals. We are at par (if not better) when compared to other team sports. We can do even better if we are provided with good support from the Government and can compete at the Asian Games and hopefully very soon at the Rugby World Cup."