The following reporting comes from the Valley CAS Team - Erin and Lucy - who are ESF high school students assigned to Valley for the season, to further their real-world experiences.

Tanya is a member of the 2019/20 Premiership and League winning 2019/20 Valley "Black Ladies" rugby team.


Name : Tanya Dhar

Nationality: Indian / Hong Kong
Position: forward
Age: 20
Height: 5’5
Weight: 70kg


As the fourth wave of COVID-19 infections approached Hong Kong, sporting activities have been put on hold once again, we interviewed Tanya Dhar via zoom to learn about what she has been up to lately:

Why do you play?:

Rugby embodies the core values of camaraderie, sisterhood, inclusion and respect.
These values have helped me grow so much as an individual and I continue to play because of them. Over the last few years, I’ve also loved the opportunity of coaching girls and boys and passing on what I’ve been taught as well as building relationships across all ages and clubs.
Other interests: baking!

What are your initial reactions to the fourth wave? How has it affected you?

“When the fourth wave hit, being quite a social person and constantly being around people, I was quite bummed out. However, it was good to finally get back into training before Christmas break, meet and play with teammates after not seeing each other for 6-7 months. We were hoping to get more of a whole round in, but I’m grateful that we got to play the amount we did. Covid is not the ideal situation, though we were expecting the fourth wave to cut the season short. Fingers crossed that we get to play more soon after Chinese New Year Break! Lockdowns have made me realise to appreciate the normal life and the small things we take for granted.”

What have you been occupied with during the lockdown? How have you been keeping active and inspired?

“Just the other day, I went hiking with my friends to The Twins. It was a challenging trail, but the views are worth climbing for. Obviously, there’s the rule of “two people only”, and that’s just a bit tough, but it’s been nice to hang out with those few teammates. One of the benefits of lockdowns is that I’ve probably seen more of Hong Kong in the past 4 months than I have in the past 19 years of my life. With training and games suspended, I also get a lot more energy to hike to other trails in Chai Wan, Stanley and Ma On Shan. It allows me to also get to spend days at places like Sai Kung, which I usually won’t have time to visit.

I’ve been trying to set up and follow a structured routine on my day to day for exercise and other activities. I’m lucky to have access to weights at home with not much available (since gyms are closed), which allows me to remain active with my weight training. Running has also been one of the activities I’m keeping up with. I’m super keen for rugby to start again and to be able to get out!”

Have you been keeping in touch with your teammates? If so, how?

“[My teammates and I have] arranged a few small meet-ups here and there. With social media, we also get to see what we’re all up to and we’re able to stay in touch that way. However, we haven’t been doing much meeting up and actually doing things or playing rugby together. It’s tough because rugby is a team sport.”

Anything particular/significant you’ve done lately that you’re proud of?

“I started a baking business during August. Being a university student (majoring in economics and finance), online classes have saved me a lot of travelling time, which gives me the time and opportunity on my hands to turn a hobby of mine into part-time work. Starting the baking business has really made me tap into my creative side. It is something I definitely want to pursue after studies, perhaps full time as well.”

How did you find the process of starting your business? Did you encounter any difficulties?

“Starting the business for me wasn’t too challenging. I’ve always had a passion for baking since I was young so setting up wasn’t difficult since I had the equipment with me already. The business is currently run online (www.instagram.com/tanz.bakes), so I take orders through DMs, buy ingredients for baking, and arrange whether the order is delivered or via pick up. I’m very lucky and thankful to already have good friends to support me initially and also ordered from me. Now I have a wider customer range and more growth.”

Before lockdown, how did you balance your studies with sports?

"It was a learning process about time management throughout school. My parents put me in sports basically since I started walking, so I never knew any different than managing both studies and sports my whole life. Something that helped me and still helps me is keeping my diary. I write absolutely everything down in it. Even if it’s a ten minute conversation I need to write it down! It always keeps me on track, keeps me organised, [helps me] meet deadlines for school, go to training and keep up with [baking] orders.

In high school, I was like, the busiest kid, running from school to gym to one sport to another sport, while trying to manage my grades. I just had to adapt. There was a lot of doing homework or reading books on buses to training; I was doing what I could to squeeze in work wherever possible. I had a lot of late nights because training finished around 9pm and I would come home at 10pm, and still have homework to do. So yeah, just knowing the importance of time management, keeping a schedule and sticking to it and not procrastinating too much.

Do you have any tips for aspiring rugby players?

"Always work hard, stay grounded, stay grateful for all your opportunities. Respect your teammates and coaches, learn as much as you can from all the people around you and always remember to have a laugh while you are training."

BALANCING STUDIES AND SPORTS, AND TIPS FOR ASPIRING PLAYERS

While Tanya is an enthusiastic rugby player, she is also a university student who has recently finished her exams. As a student, balancing her studies and sports is extremely important for her.

In high school, she was always the “busiest kid”, having to manage her grades while playing sports everyday. “I had a lot of late nights... I would come home at 10 pm [after training], and still have homework to do” she says.

Despite the difficulties, she was able to adapt and learn time management skills. She would “do homework or read books on buses to training... squeezing in work wherever possible.”

Other than this, she says keeping a diary to keep track of deadlines and training has always been very helpful. She also keeps up with baking orders for her new business with her diary.

Her main advice for students who are aspiring rugby players is to learn about the importance of time management - “keeping a schedule and sticking to it, and not procrastinating too much.”

She also thinks that it is crucial for players to “always work hard, stay grounded and grateful for all your opportunities.”