Forty-eight year old Trilok Subba has to his credential 12 international, nine nationals and seven North East games gold medals in Taekwondo, a feat that can challenge any other sporting achievements in the country, yet the man from Kalimpong remains as just another face in the crowd.
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| Trilok Subba wins three gold medals in South Korea Taekwondo championship |
Subba is back after winning three gold medals- 2 in the 9th World Taekwondo Cultural Expo Competition on July 11 at Muju Province and 1 in the Jeonju Korea Open International Taekwondo Championship on July 18 at Jeonju Province both in South Korea, but for him it is a matter of only of adding another feather in the cap which has missed the eyes of the nation.
However, the man from 12 ½ Mile, Sindey Pong Busty in Kalimpong sub-division is not fretting about the apathy being shown towards his achievements, both by the state government and the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA), that governs the Darjeeling Hills.
“I have grown used to this type of disregard now. However, my fear is that young aspiring talents may feel demoralized to take this or any other sports,” said Subba, today in a felicitation program organized by members of the Darjeeling Taekwondo Association (DTA) in Darjeeling.
Subba who is a black belt 7th Dan and is also an international Taekwondo referee managed to bag the gold medals in the South Korea Taekwondo championship where more than 2000 people participated from over 31 countries, without a coach or proper training facilities. “I have converted the upper floor of my house into a practice room. However, I do not have the deep foam mattress that is a prerequisite for Taekwondo. While, participants from other countries were there in South Korea nearly a month ago in training camps but I could not do that because of the cost factor,” he said.
Subba had to pool in Rs.2.50 lakh for his stay from July 9 to 27. He could not afford the Rs.60000 as fee for the month long training in South Korea. And back home the Rs.1.30 to Rs.1.50 lakh for the deep foam mat is unaffordable, forcing him to practice in ordinary ones used domestically and even in cement floor.
That however has not deterred Subba from continuing with the sport that he took up when he was 15 years’ old. “I joined a Taekwondo club first in 1981 as I was impressed by the discipline of the sports. Initially, I participated in state level and national events but success eluded me. However, I did not give up hope and carried on putting in hours of work,” Subba said.
In 2009 Subba won his first gold medal in the Poomsae (martial art form) event in the 4th National Taekwondo Championship in Surat. In the international arena, Subba won his first gold in 2011 in the 6th Malaysia Classic International Taekwondo championship. This aside, Subba has also represented the country in international Taekwondo competitions in Scotland, Northern Ireland, London, Uzbekistan, Egypt and Bali.
Last year Subba wrote to the GTA for support but failed to get any positive feedbacks. “I had written to the sports and youth affairs department of the GTA to help us but have not got any response yet. But let’s see I will approach the local governing body of the Hills,” he said, on Sunday.
GTA executive member Colonel Ramesh Allay (Retd) in-charge of the sports and youth affairs department when contacted said, “We are aware of the laurels he has brought not only to the country but also to Darjeeling. We will write to the state government and the Centre to extend financial support to him, besides, the GTA will do whatever is needed in the future. In fact, we have decided to honour and felicitate Subba during the Independence Day celebration programme in Kalimpong”.
(EOIC)
