Tag : Junior

New Delhi : Coming from a small village in Uttar Pradesh and setting a record in long jump for Delhi, the story of Shivani Soam has drama, emotion and the determination to overcome all odds, including the barriers erected by the male chauvinistic society. Hailing from a village in Moradabad district, choosing sports was not easy for Shivani. From getting flak for wearing shorts to practicing with boys, life wasn't easy for Shivani in her village.But her dedication and determination to do something in sports saw Shivani go ahead despite the taunts. The society, which used to berate her and her family, is today lauding her achievements. The mind-set of the people has changed after Shivani won silver in the 30th North Zone Junior Athletics championship, organised by the Haryana Athletics Association at Rohtak in October 2018. "All this was not easy for me. My parents used to work in Delhi as daily-wage labourers. At the time of the first Covid-19 wave, the financial situation went from bad to worse for us. We had to return to our village from Delhi. There, when I used to go for practice in the morning, I was the target of taunts. Still, I continued my training," Shivani told IANS. Taunts were not the only problem Shivani faced. During the lockdown, when her parents had no work, a situation arose when she even though of leaving the sport. However, she continued her passion against all odds. Shivani concedes that the pandemic period in 2020 was like an 'earthquake' situation in her life. "The lockdown affected us badly. We had to return to our village... we faced a different problem here. There are many problems for girls, but I did not give up and continued my practice. After a few months, when things became normal, we came back to De ...