GUWAHATI: Assam’s international table tennis (TT) player Birdie Boro created a history of sorts by becoming the first sportsperson of the state to clear the Assam Public Service Commission (APSC) examination.
Boro secured the 66th rank among those selected for the Assam Police Service. Before him, three other international players – Hima Das, Lovlina Borgohain and Nayanmoni Saikia – have recently joined the police services after being inducted as deputy superintendents of police by the state government in recognition of their sporting achievements.
He has been a member of the Indian national TT team from 2010 to 2018. Speaking to TOI, he said: “This was my first attempt. I am happy to have cracked the APSC exam and secure 66th position.”
He studied Mayoor School at Ajmer in Rajasthan, and trained in PSPB TT academy. He pursued his graduation in philosophy from St Stephen’s College, New Delhi. Before the Covid-19 pandemic broke out, he was training in Germany and playing German league for his international and national tournaments. He has been absorbed as a sportsperson in OIL since 2011.
His father, Biswanath Boro, is a regional manager in New India Assurance, Mumbai, and his mother a homemaker, both originally from Baksa. Assam table tennis association president Pijush Hazarika and secretary Tridib Duwarah congratulated him for his achievement.