DHAKA, Dec 29, 2023 (BSS) - Santana Rani Roy grew up at a poor family. Even her parents couldn’t buy new cloths for her at her early age. She had to fight poverty since her early age. She worked as house tutor to expense education cost of her younger siblings. So, many of her dreams were not fulfilled. But, she dreamed to do something for herself along with the country and its people as well.

 
To materialize the dream, Santana learnt Taekwondo that brings fame for her. She achieved national and international recognition for Taekwondo. Later, she started to give lesson to girls about the tactic of self-defense.
 
“Many students also achieved gold, silver and bronze medals for Taekwondo,” Santana said who is now a role model to many girls and her fame has spread across the country.
 
Santana used to live at Haridas village of Lalmonirhat. Her father Subash Chandra Roy is a farmer by profession and mother Jamuna Rani Roy is housewife who was involved in mass education activities as a volunteer. Jamuna knows yoga and Santona learnt the yoga from her mother at her early age.
 
Santona is elder among her two sisters and a brother. She achieved 14 medals, most of gold, participating in different competition between 2011 and 2020. Of the medals, 10 are gold, two are silver and two are bronze.
 
She has established an institution named Lalmonirhat Taekwondo Association (LTA). Students of the institution also achieved success at different competition as they got 46 medals.
 
The government has also recognized the success of Santona. She received ‘Joy Bangla Youth Award 2018’ from Prime Minister’s ICT Advisor Sajeeb Wazed Joy at Sheikh Hasina National Institute of Youth Development at Savar. She got the award for encouraging the country’s youths as a director of LTA.
Santona said the award also encouraged her to do more for the youths. The LTA is working to hearten the youths in this regard and many are assisting me in the works, she added.
 
She said that she took training at Rangpur Government College in 2005. Later, she got training from Taekwondo Association of Rajshahi in 2010 and Central Taekwondo Association of Dhaka in 2011 and achieved first Dan in 2011 and second Dan in 2018.
 
She also established another organization named ‘Santona Handicrafts’ where distressed women of her area are getting training of handcrafting.
 
Santona said, “I want to put the handicrafts institution on a strong foundation. For this, I’ve applied to give lease of a khash land to the prime minister through deputy commissioner of Lalmonirhat.”
 
Bangladesh International Taekwondo Association (BITA) Secretary General Master Solaiman Sikder said, “I gave taekwondo training to Santona. She would become a best coach of the country if she gets proper environment and assistance.”