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Shekhotolu Puro[/caption]
Kohima, Aug. 20: The 42nd Nagaland badminton championship that concluded recently saw the rise of youngsters and emergence of new champs. 20 old Shekhotolu Puro clinched the champion’s title in the women's single held at Pfutsero under Phek district.
Puro's win is impressive and has come as a surprise package for this year's edition beating the likes of Kohima's favourite Ekumyala who had earlier beaten the last year's defending champions Bendangnaro of Nagaland Police in the semis-final.
Ekumyala was the crowd’s favourite to win the final match but the home advantage gave Puro the confidence as she won 21-17, 11-21, 21-17 in the final match.
Talking to Eastern Mirror, Puro said "I was not expecting that I would be a winner, it's the best moment for me in this career so far".
Hailing from Phek town and raised by a single mother, she has seven siblings with six sisters and a brother.
Against all odds, she went through to the final, and her success was determination with hard work. "I did a lot of training and put effort in it, I practiced every day. Most of all I believe in myself" said Puro.
Despite the Nagaland Badminton Association tournament being one of the oldest, it has yet to produce quality players except for Joseph Sumi, now a veteran player. The new champion also viewed the same that Nagaland doesn't have enough stadiums for the players to practice. "Nagaland doesn’t have a separate stadium for professional players. Even if we want to practice, we have to wait for hours for our turn. I hope we get a separate stadium and proper equipments," Puro asserted.
Taking motivation from Tai Tzu Ying, the world's number one player, she also dreams to play in World Championship if her success continues in the quest of her journey.
On inspiration she said "My mother has been an inspiration for me. Some people don't support me (playing badminton) but my mother always did."
On her daily struggles as a badminton player, she said her mother was always supportive and also credited her mixed double partner Toshi who helped him to go through the hard times. "When i decided to quit badminton (2016), he encouraged me and supported me and pushed me to go further. If it were not for him, I won't be here today. So a big thanks to him".
