Tokyo Olympics: Meet the trailblazing team making a historic breakthrough for women’s hockey in India
Ahead of Indian women’s hockey team’s historic semifinal against Argentina, here’s a look at the inspiring journey and sportsmanship of the team members.
Indians around the world are cheering for their hockey players like never before - for scripting history. While the men’s team made it to the semifinals after 49 solid years, captain Rani Rampal-led women’s team has made its first entry to the Olympic semifinals.
The team has beaten three-time champions and world no. 2 Australia in the quarter-finals and is set to face Argentina at 3.30 pm IST on Wednesday.
As India basks in the glory of women’s hockey on the global stage, here’s a closer look at the women who are making it happen on the ground. Behind their common traits of sportsmanship, resilience, and of course, a rigour to bring home the medal, are inspiring individuals - many of whom have braved poverty and personal tragedies.
Rani Rampal, 26
Rani Rampal’s rise from a humble background – she’s the daughter of a hardworking cart-puller from Shahbad, Haryana - to captaining the Indian women’s hockey team continues to inspire Indians and sports enthusiasts around the world.
Under her leadership, the team scripted history by making it to the semifinals for the first time in the Olympic Games. She told the media that it is a result of “never stopping to chase one’s dream”.
At the age of 15, she became the youngest person on the national team playing in the 2010 World Cup. The Padma Shri and Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Awardee was also part of Indian team that participated at the Rio Olympics in 2016.
Sushila Chanu, 29
Sushila Chanu Pukhrambam, the former captain of the women’s hockey team, is participating in the Olympic Games for the second time. Born to a homemaker and driver in Imphal, Manipur, Sushila’s interest in sports was piqued when she watched a football match during the 1999 National Games hosted in Manipur with her father.
At 11, she found her calling in hockey and enrolled at the Posterior Hockey Academy, Manipur, and sustained her passion even while working as a ticket collector for Central Railway. In 2013, the junior women's team bagged bronze under her leadership at the Women's Hockey Junior World Cup. She was also part of Indian team that won bronze at the 2014 Asian Games.
Neha Goyal, 24
Now one of the 16 women making a historic breakthrough for women’s hockey in India, Neha did not have the faintest idea about the sport when she first accompanied her friend to a hockey academy in Sonipat, Haryana, where she grew up. A Class 5 student then, she had visited the academy in the hope of getting new shoes and clothes for free.
Neha hails from an impoverished family supported by her mother, who is a daily wage worker in a cycle factory. She has overcome a toxic childhood with a father who is an alcohol addict. In 2014, she played her first match in Glasgow during the FIH Champions Challenge and went on to participate in the 2018 World Cup held in London.
Nikki Pradhan, 27
Nikki is the first woman hockey player from her home state, Jharkhand, to participate in the Olympic Games, first in Rio 2016 and now in Tokyo.
Daughter of police constable Soma Pradhan and homemaker Jitan Devi, they lived in the tribal village of Hesal, Jharkhand. Nikki began training for hockey at Bariatu Girls' Hockey Centre in Ranchi at the age of 12.
Lalremsiami, 21
Lalremsiami is the first woman athlete from Mizoram to participate in the Olympics. The journey of preparing for her maiden Olympic Games coincided with her lowest time personally as her father passed away during the FIH Series Final in Hiroshima in 2019 - the match that ensured Indian team’s entry to the Olympics.
Navjot Kaur, 26
One of the eight players who was part of the squad representing India at the 2016 Rio Olympics, Navjot has donned more than 100 international caps. Hailing from Kurukshetra, Haryana, she started training during her days at the Sanjay Gandhi National Park School in 2003. She scored five goals for the team in the 2014 Asian Games.
To this day, her father Satnam Singh, a mechanic, remains her life’s biggest influencer and supporter.
Gurjit Kaur, 25
Gurjit Kaur, who plays as the defender, is also known as the drag flicker of the Indian Women’s Hockey Team. She is also the sister of Navjot Kaur.
She secured her first job as a junior clerk in Allahabad at the Indian Railways through sports quota, and went on to become a permanent member of the national women’s hockey team in 2017. At the Tokyo Olympics, it was Gurjit’s goal in the 22nd minute that earned the team its historic spot in the semifinals.
The Indian women's hockey team at the Tokyo Olympics
Deep Grace Ekka, 27
The vice-captain of the Indian women’s hockey team, Deep Grace Ekka is the first woman from Odisha to become a two-time Olympian. While the sport surely runs in her blood (her brother and uncle have played), Deep had to field stereotypical questions for picking up a “man’s sport” when she started playing at the age of 13.
In 2019 , she was named Sportswoman of the Year at the Sportstar ACES Awards in Mumbai.
Savita Punia, 31
Goalkeeper Savita Punia came to be known as “the great wall” for saving many shots against Australia in the quarter-finals.
Hailing from Jodhkan village in Sirsa, Haryana, it was Savita’s grandfather who urged her to pick up the sport. Her mother was hospitalised after being diagnosed with arthritis when Savita was a Class 5 student, and she had to perform most of the household work.
But her family was far more supportive and committed towards her future in hockey than Savita herself. In 2013, she was part of the team that won bronze at the Asia Cup and went on to win at the 2016 Asian Champions Trophy, 2017 Asia Cup, and clinch silver at 2018 Asian Games.
Edited by Teja Lele