Meet 6 incredible girls of Indian Hockey Team, who created Chak De Moment at Tokyo Olympics

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Meet 6 incredible girls of Indian Hockey Team, who created history at Tokyo Olympics

Rising from modest backgrounds, women hockey team achieved the invincible task with their grit & determination. Here are riveting tales of a couple of hockey stars.

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August 2, 2021 15:55 IST
Meet 6 incredible girls of Indian Hockey Team, who created history at Tokyo Olympics
Meet 6 incredible girls of Indian Hockey Team, who created history at Tokyo Olympics

New Delhi: As Indian women hockey team made its maiden entry into the Olympic semi-final by stunning world No. 2 Australia 1-0 in quarterfinal, the nation is riveted and upbeat about their performance. The women’s team scripted history by storming into the semi-final and are thus among India’s probables, vying for an Olympic medal.

This indeed was an ‘Chak de India’ moment for the Indian women hockey team and also thousands of fans.

6 Incredible Indian girls of Hockey Team:

From Captain Rani Rampal to Vandana to Salima, many players of the Hockey squad showed strong mettle and resolve in the tournament, thus securing team’s entry in semi-final.

1) Rani Rampal:

Hailing from a modest background, Captain Rani Rampal did not have the luxury of modern equipment. Rani Rampal’s mother worked as a domestic help, her father was a cart-puller who earned a meagre sum of Rs 80/day. As her family could not afford a hockey stick for Rani, who was inspired by the senior players at the nearby academy, she rather practiced with a broken one.

Rani did not not receive much support from her family or relatives, who did not think sports could be a career path for girls. Beating all the odds, Rani became the youngest player to play for the national team in the 2010 World Cup at the age of 15.

2) Sushila Chanu:

The 29-year-old player hails from Imphal, Manipur, Sushila Chanu is one of the most experienced players in the team. Chanu has worked as a ticket collector in the Central Railways since 2010, a position she obtained through the sports quota.

The daughter of a driver and homemaker began playing the sport at the age of 11 after much encouragement from her uncle. She’d almost quit the game altogether when she wasn’t selected in the state team. Chanu only resumed playing again after much her seniors urged her to get back in the game.

3) Vandana Kataria:

Vandana would practice hockey in her village in Uttrakhand with branches of tree, mostly away from the sight of elders of her home or locality who would simply disapprove the concept of a girl practicing sports.

Though she received support from her father Nahar Singh Kataria later, who himself have been a wrestler.

Vandana went through a lot of emotional hardships as her father passed away 3 months before the Tokyo Olympics. She could not even make it to his funeral due to her training.

It was her dedication that on 31 July 2021, she became the first Indian woman to score a hat-trick at the Olympics.

4) Salima Tete: 

Salima Tete hails from Naxalism-affected districts in the Jharkhand.

Salima, a farmer’s daughter, took her first steps in hockey. She would use wooden sticks since the family was unable to afford proper hockey blades.

“Everyone in our village plays hockey, even though we have no facilities. Hockey gives us a purpose. But I’m the first player from my village to represent India at an international level,” 19-year-old Salima told LiveMint.

5) Savita Punia:

Savita as a young girl, used to travel 30 km from her village to Maharaja Agrasain Girls Senior Secondary School in Sirsa to hone her hockey skills. This school was the only place around her village that had hockey coaches as well as training infrastructure.

Apart from Gurjit’s goal, it was goalkeeper Savita Punia’s heroics that helped India stun Australia 1-0 to reach their first-ever Olympics semi-finals.

6) Gurjit Kaur:

Gurjit was introduced to hockey when she was enrolled in a boarding school, where she would spend the whole day watching the other girls play. Before this, she hadn’t ever even heard of it in her village.

In the Olympics quarter-final against World No 4, it was Gurjit who rose to the occasion and converted India’s lone penalty corner in the 22nd minute to surprise the confident Australians.

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