Pratima Barwa – a hockey coach known for nurturing India internationals like Salima Tete, Sangita Kumari and Beauty Dungdung – passed away on Saturday in Ranchi’s Paras Hospital.
She was undergoing treatment for paralysis and died due to brain haemorrhage. She was 44 years old and is survived by her son and husband, who serves in Tripura police.
Pratima’s journey towards becoming an India hockey player was cut short when she suffered a knee injury in 1995. She then took up coaching.
Sportstar had caught up with her on the sidelines of the women’s Hockey India League. “The idea that we had was small. But the fact that despite coming from smaller districts, smaller houses, and lesser-known coaches, the kids made it big, it makes me happy. My plan has turned into a success,” she said of her academy she started in Simdega before getting transferred to Khunti.
It was after Pratima contracted the coronavirus that she developed a form of partial paralysis which saw her pick up a speech disorder.
