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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From belonging to a place with a strong Naxalhold to holding the stick to escape an alcoholic father, the women team is equipped with determined and devoted members. What is it like to be a woman of dreams in a society where patriarchy still holds strong dominion? Let’s travel through their yesterday to get an idea of their journey.

Captain Rani Rampal, 26, is a forward player. She hails from Shahbad, Haryana. She’s been representing India internationally since 14. Her journey was full of hurdles. Rani was in Salwar-kameez when she holds the stick for the first time. Today, she is the key player in the national team. Known for her unmistakable ability to be at the right place at the right time, she made India name many gallantries to its account. She assisted the team win a Junior World Cup medal, Asian Cup, and was one of the key reasons why India could qualify for the back-to-back Olympics for the first time.

Neha Goyal is another player hailing from Haryana. The 24-year-old Midfielder, who hails from Sonipat, playing hockey came with two meals a day. This helped her to stay away from her alcoholic father and toxic home environment. She is representing the nation for the first time at the Olympics. Her debut was Asian Games, 2018, when she was just 18 years old. India won a silver at the Games and she was awarded the Hockey India Midfielder of the year award.

Defender Nikki Pradhan (27) gets frightened while remembering the old days when travelling even with parents was terrifying. She grew up in Hesal, Jharkhand, an area known to be a Naxal stronghold. Initial days were harsh. Grew up with financial constraints, Pradhan’s elder sister, who also played hockey, did labour work to get a hockey stick. Nikki, however, got her first pair of shoes and stick when she moved to an academy in Ranchi, 2006. It was in 2015 when she finally secured a spot in the team, just before the Rio Olympics, becoming the first player to represent the state at the Olympics.

Nisha Warsi (26) is another hockey star who made her international debut two years ago. Hailing from Sonipat, Haryana, Warsi’s father worked really hard to make sure the daughter’s needs are not compromised. But 2015 trembled the family with the father getting a paralytic attack and forcing her mother to work in a foam manufacturing factory to make ends meet. She waited for three years to get into the national team and since 2018, Warsi is unstoppable.

When northeastern face racial discrimination, the 21-year-old forward player from Kolasib, Mizoram, Lalremsiami, came to the limelight to make people think otherwise. One of the finest forwards in the team, Siami, as she is called by her teammates, is central to the idea of playing high-tempo hockey. She became a part of the national team at the age of 16. At that time, speaking Hindi or English was a tough task for her to do. Sign language and monosyllables came to her rescue. While sharing the room with her idol, Rani Rampal, Siami blended into the team. She became the first female player from Mizoram to play at the Olympics and the 2nd Olympian from the state in 25 years after Archer C Lalremsanga.

Another sports star from the northeast is Sushila Chanu (29), who hails from the capital of Manipur, Imphal. One of the experienced players in the team in the last decades alongside Rani Rampal, she worked for the Railways in Mumbai earlier. Sushila captained the team at the Rio Olympics, which was the women team’s first appearance at the Games since 1980. She has over 150 caps for the national team, has played across the Asian Games, Commonwealth Games, and was instrumental in stunning out the Australians in the quarter-finals.

Growing up in a family of hockey enthusiasts, Deep Grace Ekka, 27, is a defender. She is the sister of former Indian goalkeeper, Dinesh Grace. The girl from Odisha followed the footsteps of her brother and wanted to be a goalkeeper as well, but was pushed to play as a Defender by her brother. It was her fondness for the sport that made her spend a huge amount of time at practice, but to other Lulkidihi-residents spending that much on the field for a girl wasn’t very appreciating. They criticise her for not doing her ‘chores.’ Ekka, however, had a supportive family. She went on to be a part of the team that won the Asia Cup in 2017. With over 200 caps, she’s now playing at her second Olympics.

A budding star, Salima Tete, 19, is another player from Hesal, Jharkhand. She is a midfielder. Tete’s hockey journey began the same way most people in India fall in love with sports – in a dusty maidan where the stones needed to be removed and the temporary goalposts had to be constructed. She was born in a Naxal stronghold area, which is also a hockey hotbed. In her initial days, she worked on the family’s farm and bought herself a stick with the earned money. Before Olympics, she had won 29 caps for the senior national team.

The 23 year old Udita Duhan is a Hisar native. Duhan, a defender, followed in her father’s footsteps by playing handball. Never had imagined Hockey as a career pursuit, she stopped playing handball soon her coach stopped coming for practice. On the advice of her mother, she decided to try hands at hockey and her speed caught everybody’s attention. In 2016 she was named captain of the team that won bronze at the U-18 Asian Cup. A year later she was elevated to the senior team and became a permanent fixture ever since.

Forward Vandana Katariya, 26, hails from the city of Nawabs, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh. Making it to the quarterfinals wasn’t easy, stepped in Vandana who stood against South Africa and secured three goals. She became the only Indian woman to score an Olympic hat-trick. The achievement arrived just three months after she faced a personal tragedy. Growing up in Haridwar, locals dissuaded her family from allowing their daughter to play sports instead of focusing on household chores. But her father was adamant to ignore the societal pressure and let the daughter pursue her dream. He passed away three months ago, and Katariya was unable to attend the funeral. She will now play for the team facing Great Britain for the Bronze on August 5.

Navneet Kaur (25), is a forward. She hails from Shahbad, Haryana and is one of eight players in the team who also battled at the Rio Olympics. She’s been one of the most consistent forwards of the country. With her debut in the Junior World Cup, 2013, when India won a bronze, she has been a part of several path-breaking performances. She considers Australian great Jamie Dwyer as her idol and on Monday, she put up a courageous performance defeating her hero’s national team.

Midfielder Monika Malik (27), is another player from Sonipat, Haryana. Her father Takdeer Singh Malik, ASI with the Chandigarh police, is fond of wrestling. But Monika affirmed that he never had imposed his likeness on her. She was free to choose the sport of her interest and Malik decided to pursue the hockey route. She started her hockey training at a government school in Chandigarh. She holds a business administration degree from Kurukshetra University. On the hockey field, she was a part of the national team in the Asia Cup in 2018, and 2014, winning silver and bronze respectively.

Defender Gurjit Kaur (25), belongs to the state of Hockey legend Dhyan Chand and Balbir Singh Sr. Hailing from Amritsar, Punjab, she claimed the lone goal at the Tokyo Olympics that made India win the quarterfinal against Australia. The defender has been chipping in with crucial goals throughout her international career, scoring eight at the Asia Cup triumph in 2017, and was the top scorer when India won the 2019 FIH Women’s Series Finals.

What were you doing at 19? Well, the Hisar teenager Sharmila Devi is representing India at the Olympics. The forward made her international debut in Tokyo at the Olympic Test Event in 2019. She was also on the scoresheet when India beat the United States 6-5 to secure qualification. Sharing her journey, she explained that her inclination for hockey developed at a little age while accompanying her grandfather, a former national player, to a local ground. It was the balls used in Hockey, Volleyball and football which she found fascinating. It took a while to choose one sport as a career.

(With inputs from The Indian Express)

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The winning team will now face India or Argentina after the completion of another semifinal match scheduled at 3:30 PM today.

Initially, both the teams stood up for a strong fight against each other. They both confronted each other in 2016, Rio Olympics when Great Britain triumph over Netherlands 2-0.

However, this year at the Oi Hockey Stadium, history was not going to repeat itself as the Netherlands goaled 5 and Great Britain maintained only one. A proud moment for the Netherlands!

After losing their finals against Great Britain in Rio, Netherlands burned the candles at both ends and won every championship followed Summer Olympics, 2016, including the most desired 2018 World Cup. They now stand at the no. 1 position in the hockey rankings.

What favoured their victory?

In the initial minutes of the second quarter, they broke Britain’s resistance. Felice Albers scored through the legs of Rio hero, Maddie Hinch, on 19′ before Marloes Keetels doubled their advantage with a slick move from inside the circle.

From that point, the game shifted towards the Dutch side. By the end of the game, they scored three more goals, defeating Great Britain badly, with Albers doubling her goal tally on 38′ and Maria Verschoor and Frederique Matla rounding off the scoring. The team will now race for Gold against the winner of the 2nd semifinal match between India and Argentina. While Great Britain will face the loser for bronze.

Hockey finals are scheduled for Friday.

The post Netherlands enters Hockey Finals, thrashed Great Britain 5-1 first appeared on The History Book of Indian Hockey.

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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Below are the highlights of the match:

Quarter 1 – The first quarter started with a PC to team Ireland, but Bichu Devi saved it in the early minutes to avoid any loss. Both the team were seeking out ways to score a goal first but were unable in the first quarter and the scoreline remained at IND 0-0 IRE at the end of the first quarter.

Quarter 2 – In the second quarter, PC was again awarded to team Ireland, but again saved by Bichu Devi. Other great tries by both the teams but no goal was scored by either of the team and the score at the end of the first half remained the same at IND 0-0 IRE.

Quarter 3 – In the third quarter, team India got the PC, and finally Gangandeep marked a goal in the 45th minute, making the score IND 1-0 IRE at the end of the third quarter.

Quarter 4 – In the final quarter, team Ireland got another PC to equalize the scoreline, but unfortunately they missed with team India leading the final match of the series at a score IND 1-0 IRE.

Well Done Team India!

Keep watching this space for further updates to the upcoming matches.

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Below are the highlights of the match:

Quarter 1 – Team India started the match with an early PC but unable to convert. The next PC was awarded to team Scotland and they missed it too as Khushboo saved the great shot by the hosts to avoid the damage. The score at the end of the first quarter was IND 0-0 SCO.

Quarter 2 – In the second quarter, team India won another PC but again missed a great shot. Team Scotland also gave fine shots but failed to score a lead and the scoreline remained unchanged at the end of the first half.

Quarter 3 – In the third quarter, PC was awarded to team Scotland again, but Bichu Devi saved it. In the next minutes, Mumtaz gave a great shot at the goal and made it in the 36^th minute, thereby making the score IND 1-0 SCO.

Quarter 4 – In the last quarter, team India got the PC and a chance to strengthen their lead but missed. In spite of back to back PC’s, no further goal was scored. Then, in the 50^th minute, team Scotland equalized the score with a goal. With another PC, Gagandeep strengthened the lead of team India with a goal in the 51^st minute and the score at the end of the final quarter turned out to be IND 2-1 SCO.

Well Done team India!

The final match of the series will be on 4^th June at 20:15 hrs IST.

Keep watching this space for further updates.

The post Another Win of Jr. Women Hockey Team India in 4 Nations Tournament Against Scotland first appeared on The History Book of Indian Hockey.

Below are the highlights of the match:

Quarter 1- The first quarter started with both the teams finding ways to score a goal first and team Ireland did it first in the 10th minute thereby making the score IND 0-1 IRE at the end of the first quarter.

Quarter 2 – The second quarter team India was focused on scoring a goal to equalize the score, but missed and the score at the end of the first half remained the same at IND 0-1 IRE.

Quarter 3 – In the third quarter, team India got a PC and Reet nailed it by scoring a goal in the 35th minute, thereby making the score IND 1-1 IRE.

Quarter 4 – In the last quarter, PC was awarded to team Ireland but they missed it. In the next minutes, Sharmilla of team India strengthen the lead with a great shot by making the score IND 2-1 IRE and won the match.

The next match of the series will be against Scottland on 3rd June at 18:00 hrs IST.

Keep watching this space for further updates of the match.

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Below are the details of the team:

Goalkeepers – Savita (Vice Captain) and Rajani Etimarpu

Defenders – Deep Grace Ekka, Nisha, Gurjit Kaur, Salima Tete, Sunita Lakra

Midfielders – Monika, Nikki Pradhan, Lilima Minz, Neha Goyal, Sushila Chanu Pukhrambam

Forwards – Rani (Captain), Vandana Katariya, Navjot Kaur, Navneet Kaur, Lalremsiami, Jyoti

Chief Coach Sjoerd Marijne said that the team is balanced and well prepared. Reena Khokar is missing from the match due to injury and is replaced by Nisha. After having good exposure in Spain, Malaysia, and Republic of Korea tours, the team got to learn many things and worked upon the improvement points to give their best in the FIH Finals.

All the very best team, India!

Looking forward to great matches in the Final Series.

The post 18-Member Sr. Women Hockey Team India is Ready for FIH Women’s Final Series first appeared on The History Book of Indian Hockey.

Below are the highlights of the match.

Quarter 1 – In the first quarter, team Korea earned the first PC in the early minutes and gave a great shot at the goal by saved by Savita. Another PC to team Korea but no goal was recorded. In the next minutes, team India got the PC but missed the goal. Both the teams gave best shots but missed and the score at the end of Quarter 1 was IND 0-0 KOR.

Quarter 2 – In the second quarter, again the PC was awarded to team Korea, but team India played defensive to avoid any loss. The Korean team finally managed to score a goal in the 29^th minute, thereby making the score IND 0-1 KOR at the end of the first half.

Quarter 3 – Team India was seeking out goal scoring opportunities, but again the team Korea scored a goal with another back to bach goal making the score IND 0-3 KOR at the end of the third quarter.

Quarter 4 – In the final quarter, team India gave another great shot but missed unfortunately and the hosts gave another shot at the goal and recorded a goal again. In spite of trying hard, team India lost this time at a score of IND 0-4 KOR.

At the end of the series, the Chief coach said that the Korean team is good than ours, but the performance the Indian team gave in the first two matches was good. She added that we are improving and will continue to improve to give the best in the upcoming FIH finals in Hiroshima.

Keep watching this space for more updates of the upcoming matches.

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