This time quadrennial games were jam-packed with surprises, excitement and thrill. By playing semi-finals for the first time on the international stage, the women have already made the country proud. Their phenomenal performance gathered praises from all around the world. Although the women in blue stood fourth at the high-spirited game, their play was nonetheless unnoticed. 

The battle for the Bronze was adventurous and with a slight missing grasp, Great Britain claimed victory 4-3. The journey, however, wasn’t easy to the last history scripting match. India defeated three-times world champion Australia at the quarterfinals.

“I think staying in the present moment was the biggest reason why we could bounce back after facing three losses in the opening matches. It also helped us beat a strong team like Australia (in the quarterfinal) and eventually script history in Tokyo,” Udita said in a Hockey India release.

“As a youngster, we have learned so much from this historic campaign. We got to learn how to deal with massive pressure at the biggest of stages, and we also learned how staying in the present moment can help you do wonders,” added the 23-year-old hockey champion. 

Born in Hisar, Udita is presently a part of the 25-member senior women’s core probable for the national camp in SAI, Bengaluru. 

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While remembering the match day, goalkeeper Savita said, “Now that I have finally had some time to reflect on our performance, I do feel we achieved something outstanding, and the best part was the journey to get here over the past five years. We have endured a lot as a team and as individuals faced tremendous odds to reach this level. I think we will always cherish this journey.”

“Though we lost very closely to Argentina in the semi-finals, we wanted to give our everything against Great Britain and we really wanted that medal around our necks and after beating Australia, we really believed this was achievable,” continued Savita, as quoted by The New Indian Express. She is among six players who have been nominated for the FIH awards. In the category of Women’s Goalkeeper of the Year award, her name is suggested along with Argentina’s Belen Succi and Great Britain’s Maddie Hinch.

Savita broke into tears after losing the adventurous Bronze medal match at the Tokyo Olympics. Her being consoled by the team’s Analytical Coach Jenneke Schopman depicted the entire nation’s feelings. The women in blue were regarded as the underdogs of the tournament. They stood 12th in Rio Olympics and a handful of people have predicted them to be medal competitors in Tokyo.

“But now I feel the expectations will grow. People have seen that we can perform at top tournaments, and I believe we can live up to these expectations. We now have the experience, and the team is poised to achieve bigger feats. The experience in Rio made us believe in ourselves and we really worked hard to get to this level, now we will work on taking it to the next level,” added she.

Savita said the team’s next goal is to play their best in the calendar year 2022. With a gap of just three years to the next Olympics, their focus is to dispose of outstanding matches at the upcoming Commonwealth Games and Asian Games, aiming mainly to get on the podium in Paris.

“I actually can’t wait to return to camp in SAI, Bengaluru. It has become a place of comfort for us. There has been a lot of celebrations following the Olympics and now it’s time to get back to reality. Next year is crucial with the Asian Games and our priority will be to win Gold so we automatically qualify for the Paris Olympics. We will resume training with that target in mind,” she concluded.

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Lalremsiami, 21, was part of the national women’s team that stood fourth at the quadrennial games. In a mettlesome match for Bronze, the team in blue fought bravely against defending champions Great Britain but lost 3-4. 

She will arrive at her home state on August 25. And a grand welcome is being planned for her on August 26 at Vanapa Hall, Aizawl, shared Lalsangliana, states sports director. 

For her outstanding performance, the north-eastern state government had announced a reward amounting to 25 lakh, of which 10 lakh is being paid to her mother Lalzarmawii on June 24. Rest 15 lakh cash incentive, job appointment letter and others will be handed over to the hockey star during the function, added sports director. 

CM Zoramthanga took to Twitter to make the announcement. 

“Proud to announce that Govt. of Mizoram has approved the appointment of Ms Lalremsiami, National Hockey Player and the only Olympian from Mizoram at the Tokyo Olympic 2020 to the post of Chief Coach (Hockey) Group-A post under Sports & Youth Services Department,” he tweeted. The post is similar to the assistant director rank.

The state government had also allotted a plot measuring 691.85 m² in her hometown Kolasib, which borders Assam, belongs to the Land Resource & Water and Soil Conservation Department. 

Lalremsiami has set the benchmark by becoming the first female olympian from the sports-loving state. She’s also the second state representative at the Olympics after archer C Lalremsanga, who represented the country at the 1992 Barcelona and 1996 Atlanta Olympics. 

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Hailing from Sonipat, Haryana, Nisha was born to a tailor father who works in a retail store. He was instrumental in her career in representing team India on the international stage. “He battled every day to make sure the family is having three meals. Such conditions didn’t discourage him and he always motivated me to play Hockey,” stated Nisha.

“Now, through hockey, I am confident I will be able to support my family financially and bring them out of poverty,” affirmed Nisha.

After a delay of one year due to the Covid pandemic, the Olympics is scheduled to take place in Tokyo, Japan, from July 23. A high spirited Nisha is very grateful for the opportunity she had been provided with the Hiroshima event. “Since my debut in Hiroshima, I have been getting the right exposure and opportunity to prove myself and I feel very fortunate that I was picked in the squad for the Tokyo Olympics. Very few people get to live this dream so early in their international career,” said she, as quoted by The Bridge.

The Tokyo Olympics are about to kick off. Team India will face the Netherlands, World No. 1, in their first group match. Nisha, a firm believer, has deep faith in team India. She said the national team is focusing on speed work to ensure gaining peak at the right time. 

“With only weeks left before we leave for Tokyo, we are putting in all the hard work required and all of us in the team are pushing each other to perform better in every session. I am glad to be part of such a system where the entire Coaching staff is also pumped up to see that we peak at the right time. There is a lot of excitement within the team and all of us are looking forward to our first match against the World Champions Netherlands,” she added.

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Recalling the beginning of her daughter’s journey, Savitri Devi shared that to save her daughter from the toxic environment of the house, she enrolled her in Haryana Hockey Academy, Sonepat. Now 13 years later, she feels proud of taking the right decision at the right time.

“My husband would get drunk, and become abusive and violent. Whenever he came home, my daughter used to shut her eyes, close both her ears with her fingers and hide behind me. That was no way to live. The hockey ground felt safer,” she added.

Goyal used to work with her mother at a cycle factory to feed the family of five. The journey from earning a meagre Rs. 2000 a month, for straightening the spokes, to the national team, Neha is an inspiration to many aspiring sportswomen.

It was her coach Pritam Siwach, an Arjuna awardee and a member of India’s 2002 CWG gold medal-winning women’s team, who runs a hockey academy in Sonepat, Haryana, who saw the 11-year-old Neha lingering near the ground every day. She perceived the stamina of the little girl and gave her a skipping rope. Ms Goyal impressed her and in return, Siwach promised her two proper meals daily if she would play. 

To conceive her parents for Hockey, Siwach went her home. Neha was embarrassed to invite her as the family was living in a tiny house, after 10 steps you reach the wall, Siwach recalls. 

Neha often remembers the gone days when her jobless father used to come home all drunk and things getting out of control.  

Despite her struggling childhood, her teammates find her one of the happy-go-lucky players in the team. With a big smile on her face, Neha is always optimistic no matter how bad the situation is, they agreed in unison.  

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