England rugby's first female Sikh swaps scrum for sumo
· Yahoo Sports
The first Sikh woman to play rugby for England 30 years ago is now representing her country in sumo wrestling at the age of 51.
Despite being new to the sport, Manjinder Nagra became national champion in her weight category last month, and is now training for the European Sumo Wrestling Championships held in Scotland in June.
Visit rhodia.club for more information.
The mother-of-three from Hove described it as a "great honour" to be selected for the championship.
"I didn't think at 51 I'd be taking up sumo," she said, "but it's a dream to represent your country twice in your lifetime so I'm going to grab the opportunity with both hands."
Manjinder Nagra, second from right, says she was often the only person of Asian heritage on the pitch [Manjinder Nagra]Nagra first represented England in the 1990s when she started playing at Bath University and was later selected to play for England Students.
She said she was "quite often" the only person of Asian heritage on the pitch.
She was introduced to sumo wrestling when onboarding sumo champion Mandeep Singh Kundi as a Sikh Games ambassador, who suggested she could participate in a competition his club was hosting in March.
The Sikh Games, of which Nagra is also an ambassador, is a UK-based, not-for-profit organisation created to introduce more ethnic minority participation in sport and unite communities.
She said: "There's still this perception which i think is a myth that Asian people don't like sport... [that] all they're concerned about is, you know, careers.
"I think there's there's more outreach that's happening for sure, but I still think there are barriers there and to say that there aren't, I think, is inaccurate."
She said there were still many societal and cultural barriers obstructing people of Asian heritage from participating in sports, citing a Muslim footballer who wasn't allowed to play because she wore tracksuit bottoms instead of shorts.
In taking part in this championship, Nagra said she hopes she can be a role model to younger girls in a way she didn't have growing up.
She said: "If you don't try, you just won't know.
"And I don't know where this opportunity is going to take me, but it's quite exciting."
Follow BBC Sussex on Facebook, on X, and on Instagram. Send your story ideas to [email protected] or WhatsApp us on 08081 002250.