Odisha Coach Rashmita Purohit Trains 50 Students For Free In Sambalpur, Produces State-Level Winners
Badshah Jusman Rana meets the coach to find out how she has been training underprivileged children despite lack of ground, equipment and government support.
Published : April 20, 2026 at 4:35 PM IST
Sambalpur: By profession, she is a sports teacher at a private school, but her real passion is training underprivileged sports talents free of cost. At present, she is coaching around 50 students in games like lawn bowls and fencing through her own efforts, even without proper infrastructure or government support. Despite these limitations, she has been consistent in her efforts and that has made her a household name among the sports loving fraternity here.
Rashmita Purohit, 39, from Govindtola in Sambalpur is currently serving as sports teacher at a private school in Sakhipada. As a part of her job, she trains children every evening after school and braces them with skills and techniques in games like lawn bowls and fencing. Though there is no fixed ground for practice, she conducts sessions in various school grounds as per availability of space. Her responsibility does not end here, she also arranges sports equipment for the children from her own pocket.
"My interest in sports began in childhood since my father was also a sports teacher. I have seen so many children who want to pursue sports but they do not have the place or a coach," she says, adding that there has to be someone to train the kids. "I do it because I want to bring forward hidden talents from underprivileged backgrounds," she is quick to add. Her students have performed well at the state level and also participated in national competitions.
Since she did not receive enough encouragement during her childhood, which left her own dreams incomplete, she does not want any other child to suffer. "I want to fulfil my dreams through students. When I began there were only two children. Now I train 50," says Rashmita who has trained over 300 students since 2018.
Originally from Binika in Subarnapur district, Rashmita performed well in shot put, discus throw, and 100m and 200m races, often securing first place in school. She was equally good in games even during her graduation days. However, due to lack of support, she could not continue.
It was only after her marriage in 2007 that her husband Mahendra Nayak of Govindtola, supported her to chase her dreams. "With his support, I completed a Bachelor of Physical Education (BPEd) course in Tigiria, Cuttack and started working as a sports teacher in 2017. I also completed a fencing course in Patiala and received training in lawn bowls, after which I decided to coach children," explains Rashmita.
So far, five of her students, Leena Har, Rukmini Munda, Muskan Suna, Amrita Bhenga and Linkita Nagariya have won gold medals at state-level lawn bowls competitions. Arifa Begum also won a bronze medal at the national lawn bowls competition held in Guwahati in 2019.
Leena Har, who won gold at the Under-25 State Women’s Lawn Bowls Championship in Bolangir in 2025, says she came in contact with Rashmita in 2023. “I did not know anything about lawn bowls then. Ma’am introduced us to the sport and trained us during free time. We faced problems as we did not have a ground to practice, but I got a gold in 2025. The credit goes to her,” she says, adding that better facilities would help them do better at higher levels.
Another student, Seema Munda from Jhankarpada, says she met Rashmita while training at VSS Stadium in 2024. “Ma'am introduced me to lawn bowls. With her training, we won bronze in Bhubaneswar in 2024 and silver in Bolangir in 2025,” she says, pointing out the need for proper infrastructure.
Manas Kumar Sai, another student of Rashmita won one gold and one bronze at the state-level lawn bowls competition in Bolangir in 2025. He too credits Rashmita for training them free of cost and motivating them.
Not only in Lawn Bowls, Rashmita's students have got medals in fencing too. Barenya Gautami Baral, a Class 8 student, won gold at the 4th State-Level Fencing Championship in Cuttack.
Amid challenges, Rashmita continues to train children asking them to focus on what they have - the skill, interest and perseverance. "Even without proper facilities, my students are winning medals. But with support and infrastructure, they can perform better at national and international levels," says Rashmita.
Recently, the students met the district collector and requested him to grant them a ground for practice. Sambalpur Collector Siddheshwar Baliram Bondar has reportedly assured them temporary practice arrangements at the MCL ground in Burla.
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