PKL Season 10: Damayanti Boro Unplugged - Assamese referee reveals her oscillation as a coach and a referee

The Pro Kabaddi League has been a revelation in franchise sports since its inception in 2014. India's own Kabaddi was long a deprived sports without limelight, but the arrival of PKL has burst it into the scenes and a decade later, PKL is one of the leading franchise tournaments in the country.

Kabaddi is a sport which is close to the earth, and the people associated with the game often emerge from the modest of backgrounds, and remotest of corners of this country.

The star raiders, defenders of the sport have become household names these days. But the sport has also provided opportunities to female referees, something which is unusual with mainstream sports. And spearheading the women-power in PKL is Damayanti Boro.

Damayanti Boro, a woman from Assam, has been a coach in the Northeast zone for a long time. She is a familiar face in PKL with her role as a referee. In a recent chat with PKL, Boro revealed her journey as a Kabaddi referee, but also as a coach.

When asked about how she was introduced to the sport, Boro said, "My elder brother was a javelin thrower and I used to go to the ground with him. I was in the sixth standard at that time. Then I saw a few girls practice kabaddi on the field. Then I joined them too as an SAI trainee. Thereafter I took part in State and National competitions, but I couldn't play in international tournaments."

Post her playing career, Boro became a professional kabaddi coach after passing an exam conducted by Amateur Kabaddi Federation of India (AKFI) in 2015. Boro said she is mainly a coach and has been working with the Assam government in Guwahati. But she revealed that she always had an interest in officiating Kabaddi matches, and started doing so in local matches.

When asked about how she attained the referee's role at the Pro Kabaddi League, Boro said, "The Pro Kabaddi League conducted a referee selection camp in Assam in 2019 and I got selected for PKL during the camp. I went for a workshop in Mumbai as well, but I couldn't officiate in Season 7 because my employer at the time didn't allow me to officiate in PKL."

However, Boro received an opportunity to officiate in PKL once again, "I attained a job as a kabaddi coach in the Assam Government in July 2023 and then I received an opportunity to officiate in the Pro Kabaddi League once again. This time my employer allowed me to officiate in PKL and therefore I am here. I would like to thank Mashal Sports for this opportunity."

The referee also said that she is currently oscillating between two jobs. "So currently, I am officiating in alternate venues in PKL Season 10. When I am not officiating in PKL Season 10, I go back to my coaching job in Guwahati," signed off Boro.