Interview: "I was mentally prepared" - Junior Hockey World Cup's penalty shootout star Bigan Soy

Bigan Soy (yellow) crowded by her teammates (Courtesy: Telegraph India)

It will only be fair to say that not even journalists knew her well before her exploits at the 7th Junior Women’s Hockey World Cup in Monchengladbach. For someone who did not play a single match in India’s World Cup campaign in Germany, it may seem like she was just making the squad numbers, but the kind of ending she orchestrated was nothing short of a fairytale.

Bigan Soy is now a very much known name in Indian hockey circles, after she pulled off five superb saves in the bronze medal play-off tie against England to pave the way for the country’s first-ever medal in the big-ticket event.

What makes the 20-year-old Jharkhand girl’s feat all the more remarkable was the fact that she carved out a name for herself from those crucial fifteen minutes (duration of the penalty shootout) after having played no part in regulation time as regular goalkeeper Ningombam Sanarik Chanu took charge of the Indian cage for 70 minutes.

“I was under no pressure whatsoever. Sanarik Chanu did a great job in all our matches, but coaches Neil Hawgood and Narinder Singh Saini told me once we qualified for the quarterfinals, that they are going to field me in case any of our matches from the quarterfinals onwards had a penalty shootout. I was not required for the quarterfinal and semifinal matches. So when the bronze medal play-off tie was extended to a shootout, I was mentally prepared as it did not come as a bolt from the blue,” Bigan says in an exclusive interview to Sportskeeda.

The soft-spoken Jharkhand girl backed her instincts and came out all guns blazing in the shootout. “I was always confident about my footwork and it worked to a nicety as I managed to nullify the goal-scoring designs of five English players. Of course, we also missed a few and it turned into a nerve-jangling affair before Navneet Kaur settled the issue,” she relives the epochal moment.

Soy is enjoying every bit of the limelight bestowed on the women hockey players – something they are not accustomed to. “I’m really thankful to the central and state governments for rewarding us with cash awards. Even Hockey Jharkhand gave me a cash award of Rs 51,000. It feels good to be recognized for our efforts, but I want to see more jobs for women hockey players. It is important to have a secure job so that one can fully focus on the game,” she says.

The Indian junior women’s hockey goalkeeper joined the State Authority of India (SAI) centre in Ranchi in 2006 – a place she honed her hockey skills after starting off as a promising footballer. “I was a decent football player at Bariatu School in Ranchi – I used to play football as a forward when I joined SAI, but one day I was asked to don the hockey goalkeeper’s gloves and there has been no looking back since then,” she takes a walk down memory lane.

Hailing from a nondescript Bandgao village in Jharkhand’s West Singhbhum district, Bigan was born to an economically-disadvantaged family – her father is a farmer, while her mother is a homemaker. “I have two elder brothers – one is doing police training while another is not working and I am the youngest in the family,” she says.

Soy made her international debut at the 2011 Junior Women’s Under-18 Asia Cup in Bangkok. “I still remember we won the bronze after defeating the defending champions Korea 2-0 in the play-off tie. We had lost to Japan who went on to win the tournament. I played in all the games in Bangkok,” she reminisces.

She was also part of the Indian team in the 2012 Under-21 Asia Cup, held in Bangkok, where her team finished runners-up losing 2-5 to China.

A place in the senior team is her next target. “I’m determined to make it to the senior women’s hockey team. I know it won’t be easy with so much competition around, but I will give my best shot. I want to help India win a medal at major events like the World Cup, Olympics among others,” the bashful lass fired a parting shot.