A video of a karate player from Ranchi is currently viral on social media. While one will be happy to see the player’s multiple medals and certificates, but her poverty and helplessness will drive a wedge through the heart. The talented karate player Bimla Munda from Kanke, Ranchi is not only a black belt in karate but also a national gold medalist. Her struggle can be seen in the viral video. Due to worsening economic conditions, Bimla is taking care of the family by selling Rice beer or Hadiya, as it is known locally. Due to this, she is not able to practice for karate as well.
Bimla had started karate coaching classes to train budding players in February but had to shut it down in due to the coronavirus pandemic and lockdown. Bimla, a commerce graduate, lives with her 84-year-old grandfather. Her parents live in Sagrampur village. Her father is a small farmer who works as a daily laborer. The 26-year-old is waiting for a government job , she was among 33 players selected for Jharkhand’s government job scheme for sportspersons but she hasn’t received any appointment letter so far. She applied for direct job scheme in 2019, and verification was also completed in February 2020, but they never received the appointment letter. They were told that we would get a job by March. The Sports secretary has since said that jobs would be provided in a month.
Bimla Munda has been playing tournaments since 2008. She won medal at the district level as recently as this year. In 2009, she was won medals in Odisha. In 34th National Games, Bimla won the silver medal, while in the Akshay Kumar International Karate Championship, she won two gold medals. Bimla gets emotional seeing her medals and certificate. She says that she stares at her medals and certificates the whole day but as reality strikes, she puts them away in a box. With the video going viral, Jharkhand chief minister has also taken note and asked Ranchi deputy commissioner to look into the issue.
