Thread by @thebetterindia

(1/9) Ace archer and sportsperson Gohela Boro has brought India much pride with her stellar performances. But her journey came to a sudden halt when she was diagnosed with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), a rare auto-immune disease.

#Samvaad2021 @TataSteelLtd

(2/9) The once agile sportsperson was now making rounds of the hospital, and faced such financial constraints that she had to seek help from the government.

(3/9) Gohela has represented both India as well as Assam in various national, state and district-level archery competitions, and won a total of 72 medals. She began her sporting career in 2008 with the Sports Authority of India (SAI), Kokrajhar.

(4/9) She was also selected to represent India internationally, but could not grab the opportunity because of her illness.
While she can no longer go back to being the full-time archer she used to be, she has decided to use her prowess to help children learn archery.

(5/9) She has trained over 40 underprivileged children, one of whom qualified for the U-14 category at the national level.

(6/9) At this year’s Samvaad, Gohela said reimagination for her was changing the way we train the youth of India’s rural and tribal areas to aspire to achieve their dreams, in sports or otherwise.

(7/9) The eighth edition of Samvaad, Akhra 2021, posed an intriguing theme this year – reimagination. How important is it to hold on to one’s roots while re-envisioning the future? Over the span of four days, compelling questions were asked – Why is reimagination important?

(8/9) What should we reimagine? What should not be reimagined, and who should do the reimagining?
“We have to find out newer ways to identify rural talents,” is Gohela’s perception of reimagination, & how one must tap into the nerve of the country, to dream of a better tomorrow.

(9/9) “I see a number of children from the tribal communities of India getting medals for the country. There are a number of talented children interested in sports and it is high time we take note of them,” she says.