She may not be a household name, but the Indian women’s hockey team Tokyo Olympics A major step has been taken to remove that discrepancy. They have ensured that the present and future generations of Indian sports lovers will remember how the 16 members conquered situations both on and off the field – creating history by beating the powerhouses for the first time in their Olympic history and reaching the semi-finals . Australia.
Here’s a Brief Description of The Magnificent 16
Rani Rampal – Forward and Captain
She was just 14 years old when Rani made her international debut. She turned 26 last December and is the captain of India’s women’s hockey team. These two lines are enough to sum up his eccentric talent. The driver’s daughter. He started playing hockey at the age of six with a broken stick. Despite her poverty-stricken childhood, Rani remained focused and convinced her parents to let her play hockey. Today, she is a Junior World Cup bronze medalist, a two-time Asian Games medalist and has been an integral part of the Indian team, which qualified for the Olympics consecutively for the first time in history.
Savita Punia – Goalkeeper and Vice-Captain
Savita’s grandfather, who hails from Sirsa district of Haryana, inspired her to play hockey. She joined the Sports Authority of India Academy in Hisar and initially, was not very serious about making a career out of hockey. Everything changed when his father spent a significant amount of money on buying a new kit. Today he is honored as wall of india Participated in over 200 international appearances, including Asian Games medals in 2017 (2014, 2018) and Asia Cup gold.
Sushila Chanu – Midfielder
Sushila once dreamed of representing India at least once in her lifetime. Today, he holds over 150 international caps, captained India at one Olympics (Rio 2016), a former Junior World Cup medalist and an Asian Games medalist (Incheon 2014). The 29-year-old was battling a major knee injury, which missed major events including the World Cup, Asian Games, Champions Trophy in 2018, which left her with self-doubt while undergoing rehabilitation. However, she made an impressive comeback and was instrumental in keeping Australia away in the Tokyo Olympic quarter-finals.
Vandana Katariya – Forward
In the Junior World Cup in 2013, Vandana scored five goals and India won the bronze medal. She was the top scorer in the event. Last week, as India faced South Africa, the team needed a win to keep alive their chances of making the cut for the quarter-finals. Vandana stepped up with a hat-trick and became the first Indian female player to do so at the Olympics. Her father Nahar Singh ignored social pressure to support Vandana’s dream. He had passed away three months ago, with 29-year-old Bharat unable to attend his funeral.
Nikki Pradhan – Defender
When she was selected in the Indian team for the Tokyo Games, Nikki became the first player from Jharkhand to represent the country at the Olympics. The 27-year-old has won over 100 caps for India and growing up, she overcame financial constraints and the fear of a hockey stick she believed would break her leg one day to keep her passion and dream alive. The defender is a resident of Hesel which is a stronghold of Naxalites.
Deep Grace Ekka – Defender
Inspired by his elder brother Dinesh, a former India goalkeeper, Deep also wanted to become a goalkeeper after he started playing at the age of 12. However, his brother and uncle advised him to become a defender. Her family was reprimanded for allowing a girl to play hockey instead of involving her in household chores. Eventually, she graduated to be selected for the national team and the 27-year-old is a two-time Asian Games medalist and Asian Cup winner.
Neha Goyal – Midfielder
Neha used to work in a cycle factory with her mother Savitri and sisters. Her alcoholic father used to abuse her mother, who enrolled in the hockey academy to keep Neha away from the trauma. Her talent took her place – for the first time in India’s squad for the 2011 Junior World Cup when she was just 14 years old. Later that year, she was named player of the tournament in the Under-21 Four-Nations Lal Bahadur Shastri Women’s Hockey Tournament. She was part of the silver medal winning team at the 2018 Asian Games.
Salima Tete – Midfielder
Tete hails from Badkichapar village in Simdega, one of the most Maoist-affected districts of Jharkhand. The 19-year-old, known for her tenacious defense on the field, captained the silver medal winning Indian team at the 2018 Youth Olympics in Buenos Aires. He is considered the next big thing in Indian hockey. Her family back home has been unable to watch her play as the only TV set in the village has been faulty for years and internet connectivity is poor. Her father, who is a farmer, himself used to play hockey and hence he encouraged his daughter to take up the sport. In the absence of proper hockey blades, Tete used wooden sticks to practice.
Navneet Kaur – Forward
One of the most frequent forwards in the Indian team, Kaur, like Rani, hails from Shahabad Markanda in Haryana. The 25-year-old forward suffered a setback in May when he contracted COVID-19. She is a Junior World Cup medalist and 2018 Asian Games silver medalist. It was Navneet who made it a late winner for India in the quarter-finals against Australia and a famous victory at the Tokyo Olympics.
Udita Duhan – Defender
Born in Hisar, Haryana, the 23-year-old made her senior debut in 2017 during the Indian team’s tour of New Zealand. The defender has played 32 matches for the Indian team. Although he took up the sport at an early age, the forward started playing hockey only six years ago. Initially he followed in the footsteps of his father and played handball.
Nisha Warsi – Midfielder
The 26-year-old midfielder from Sonipat made her international debut against Uruguay in the 2019 FIH Women’s Series Final in Hiroshima. Her father, who works as a tailor in a retail store, supported her unconditionally when she decided to take up hockey. Although the family was not growing financially, Nisha’s father somehow managed to set aside some money that would help her travel for tournaments.
Lalremsiami – Forward
One of the youngest players in the team, Lalremsiami was born and raised in Kolasib, Mizoram. The 21-year-old is the first female player from her state to participate in the Olympics. The ‘Siamese’ as he is affectionately called by his teammates, helped India secure a historic silver medal at the 2018 Youth Olympics in Buenos Aires.
Hailing from a state where hockey is not so popular, when she decided to take up the sport, the family did not have many supporters. However, after much persuasion, he finally got the green signal. When Lalremsiami joined the team, she struggled with the language as she could barely speak English or Hindi. He initially had to communicate with his teammates by hand gestures.
Lalremsiami left for the Olympics due to a personal tragedy. He lost his father just a day before India’s semi-final match against Chile in the FIH Series Finals in Hiroshima, Japan last year. Instead of returning home, the young striker suffered a personal tragedy and decided to stay back with the team.
Monica Malik – midfielder
The 27-year-old creative midfielder from Haryana has been the backbone of the team, delivering inspiring performances in several major tournaments. She does a significant job of linking play from defense to attack, and has played more than 150 times for the national team.
He was instrumental in India’s campaign at the FIH Olympic Qualifiers in Bhubaneswar, where the team defeated USA 6–5 on aggregate to secure a berth for Tokyo.
Sharmila Devi – Forward
Sharmila made her senior team debut in 2019 at the Olympic Test Event. The 19-year-old forward has featured in just nine games ahead of Tokyo Games Sharmila, including an Olympic qualifier.
Gurjit Kaur – Defender
A vital cog in the team, she plays the dual role of a defender and is also the designated drag-flicker. His goals have contributed to major victories for the team in recent years, the biggest being this morning’s strike against Australia. Born in a farming family in Miadi Kalan, Amritsar, Kaur and her sister attended a private school and knew nothing of hockey until they shifted to a boarding school. Kaur used to watch other girls playing hockey throughout the day and this fueled her passion for the game.
Navjot Kaur – Midfielder
The Kurukshetra-born attacking midfielder made her international debut in 2012 after some impressive work at the Junior Asia Cup in a series against New Zealand in Napier and the International Under-21 tournament in the Netherlands. Since then she has been a part of the team’s important victories. The 26-year-old, like many of her peers, comes from a humble background. His father is a mechanic while mother is a housewife.
With PTI inputs
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