Rohini Bopanna started her career as a Technical Official when she first officiated during the 4th Hockey India National Championship (Women) in 2014 where she was involved with the junior, sub-junior and senior categories. Being a former hockey player herself, the 39-year-old has since then officiated in various domestic and international events.
Bopanna considers her first international assignment as a key milestone in her career as a Technical Official which came when she officiated at the 12th South Asian Games 2016 in Guwahati, India. She was also assigned to officiate in the 4th Women's Asian Champions Trophy which was held in Singapore later that year.
"I feel honoured to receive this distinction awarded by FIH. My career in officiating began in 2014 when I was appointed as Technical Official for the 4th Hockey India National Championship (Women). I thank Hockey India Umpiring, Technical and Competitions Committee for providing me with several opportunities to officiate in the past five years that has helped me develop. I also thank my family for their continued support," Bopanna stated.
Having officiated in his first international tournament in 2016 umpire Gurbaj has joined the elite list of Indian umpires who have made it to the FIH International Panel. The 32-year-old Gurbaj from Kaithal, Haryana was a university-level hockey player but his ambitions of representing India ended abruptly after a serious back injury. "Despite missing out on playing hockey for nearly two years, I continued to remain passionate about the sport. I took up coaching first and then I started getting interested in umpiring after getting inspired by some of the senior umpires officiating at the National Stadium in Delhi," expressed Gurbaj.
( With inputs from IANS )