Villagers of Dorokha Dungkhag in Samtse took a break from farming activities and got into the shoes of sportsmen for the open football and volleyball tournament, which was held from Friday until Monday.
Villagers formed 49 teams, of which 45 were men’s team and the remaining four, the women’s team. Although, the tournament has been held for over three decades, this was first tournament to see women’s participation.
Women participants, who were mostly mothers, said such sports activity was appropriate platform to showcase their sporting talents. Other than this, it promotes unity and togetherness among the villagers who otherwise live in far flung villages in Dorokha.
“Since we are all mothers, this was really different experience but we had a blast,” said one of the female participants, Ugyen Zangmo.
Her friend, Tashi Choden said, “More than winning, participation mattered for us. It is really a good opportunity for us and hereafter we expect a maximum of ten to fifteen women’s teams to take part in the event. And I think participating in such events will also minimise the gender gap between both the sexes”.
The sports instructor with Dorokha Central School, Tshering Lhamo said encouraging women from villages to participate in sports is to increase the number of women players in Dorokha.
The four day long football and volleyball tournament was arranged by Dorokha Dungkhag Administration and Dorokha Central School.
