Growing up in Ungar village in Bangladesh's Nilphamari District, Youth Unstoppable rugby star Kabita faced the challenge of living in a place where playing sports was not a suitable pastime for girls or young women. Kabita's neighbours may have frowned upon her pursuits, but "my family was different, fortunately," she reflects.

Kabita's parents encouraged her to be active and empowered her to try different sports, including cricket and football—and when she excelled, they celebrated her success and pushed her to do more. "When I received prizes in school sports events, my parents felt proud and became so happy about it," Kabita shares.

With her parents' permission, Kabita took extreme measures to fuel her fondness for sports, riding her bike 10 to 15 kilometers to and from practice—something she describes as both difficult and even unsafe. While she appreciates her early experiences with other sports, no game stood out to her quite like rugby. "Yes, I played cricket, football, and [other] athletics from my childhood," she says. "But there's a different feeling about rugby [that] I just can't describe with my words."

It was those long, often excruciating bike rides that would instill a grittiness and determination in Kabita that would carry over perfectly to the rugby pitch. "It was tough for Bangladeshi women to [play a] sport, and that's why I feel that I'm unstoppable," she says, recalling her own efforts.

Kabita discovered rugby when she was invited to participate in a trial for the inaugural Bangladesh women's sevens team in Rangpur because of her general athletic prowess. Unfortunately, her village was under severe flooding at the time, and making the decision to leave and attend the trial was difficult, especially because her father is a farmer. "I was depressed when I went," she admits, "because my family was suffering from the flood."

While in Rangpur, Kabita endeavored to make a statement on the pitch, and after making the cut when the group was slimmed down to 25, she eventually earned a spot on the 12-player roster competing for the Asia Rugby Women's Sevens Trophy. "If Ferdous Sir didn't summon me [to the trial], I might not have been able to get into this wonderful sport," she says, reflecting on the good friends she's made through rugby.

Making the national team enabled Kabita to travel on a plane for the first time, something she describes as "adventurous." When she found herself on the pitch in Indonesia, her natural athletic abilities helped her pick up the game quickly. Bangladesh played four matches, and Kabita helped the team earn a draw against Chinese Taipei by scoring her first international try, elevating her reputation as one of the Youth Unstoppable rugby players of her generation. "I was overwhelmed when I represented my country on the international platform for the very first time," Kabita says with a smile. "I became so happy when I scored!"

As she continues to enhance her rugby skills and knowledge, Kabita wants to make her mark by spreading her love for the game: "I want to spread this game through my village, to the city, and I want to be a good player so that I can do the best for the country. My future [plan] is to participate as a role model of rugby inside and outside of my country."

On a personal level, Kabita aspires to "become a better player on the field and a better human off the field." She's already inspiring people in her village to become more open-minded when it comes to girls and women playing sports. "The mentality of people in the village is changing day by day," she shares. "They're accepting it. I hope, in the future, it'll be more acceptable for girls to join in sports."

She hopes that her performances on the pitch can shine a positive light on Bangladeshi women's sports within and beyond her nation's borders. "What I can give to rugby is what matters to me the most!" she says. "I love to play rugby and want to [help] my country shine in international tournaments. I'm proud of what I've done to change my society's thinking."