Poverty, hardships, father’s determination: Sanjida Islam’s success story

“Since childhood, I was a very mischievous girl who always used to go out and play. I somehow managed to cross primary school. But to enter high school required money for admission and other necessities which my family could not afford,” Sanjida was quoted as saying to The Daily Star.

“But fortunately, we came to know about a girls’ school in our locality which allowed girls who would play regularly to study for free. I joined that school and started by playing volleyball and handball.

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In a conservative country like Bangladesh, women indulging in any kind of sports are not looked in the right way. Although Sanjida had her family’s support, the biggest obstacle that stood in her way was money. 

“When I was in sixth grade, we came to know that the Bangladesh Krira Shikkha Protishtan (BKSP) was trying to form a women’s cricket team. My father had to toil hard to arrange the money that I needed to go for a trial at BKSP in Dhaka. I went to the trial and eventually got selected,” recalled the 24-year-old Sanjida.

But that’s not all, there is more to come. After returning from Dhaka with high hopes, it was a matter of time Sanjida and family saw their dreams shatter when they received a long-awaited letter from the BKSP. “My family and I were eagerly waiting for the letter from BKSP after returning from Dhaka. But our hopes dimmed after not receiving a letter for several days. However, suddenly one day the most awaited letter came to our address but what we found out after reading the 26- or 27-page letter would only shatter all our hopes."

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"We came to know that it would require Tk 5000 and a lot of other things including school dress, sports jerseys, sports equipment in order to get admitted to the BKSP. But my father did not give up. He went from door to door with the BKSP's letter and was able to gather the fund I required,” said Sanjida.

Since that day, Sanjida’s life has turned around and went on to represent the country at the international level. Known as a T20 specialist nowadays, Sanjida is a veteran of 54 T20Is and 16 ODIs till date. However, the right-hander’s only regret is that her father, for whom she has made it this far, could not live to witness the success of his daughter.