The India women’s national field hockey team on how 2020 has only motivated them to do more 

For the last four years, the India women’s national field hockey team has dreamt and worked towards a single goal—to bring home an Olympic medal and make India proud. They had a lot to prove to override their performance at the Rio De Janeiro 2016 Olympic Games (they were eliminated in the group stage after qualifying for the same, for the first time since 1980). It was a huge blow for the team, but they were ready for a comeback under the steely guidance of Dutch coach Sjoerd Marijne. Then, when the players were at their peak and raring to go, the nationwide lockdown in India was announced, and soon after, the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games were postponed to 2021. Given the hardships that these young women had to overcome to get to this point—not just dealing with the disappointment of their last Olympic outing and the tedious training that followed, but ever since each of them chose hockey as a career—you will understand the gut-wrenching disappointment that engulfed the Sports Authority of India (SAI) camp in Bengaluru when news of the delay in games and a halt in training was declared. “We broke down, the team was not in the right mental space for a few days,” confesses vice-captain and goalkeeper Savita Punia, during a telephone interview. (The team is now back in training at SAI after the forced four-month break).

But this is a team of champions, both on and off the field. They come from economically weaker sections of society and have worked against all odds to secure their spots in the national team. “We decided to look at the silver lining—we now have one more year to practise and prepare,” says Rani Rampal, captain of the current squad. They went a step further, launching the #GIVE100FORCOVID on the crowdfunding platform Ketto, raising 20 lakh for migrant workers stranded at various locations without food, water or shelter, when the lockdown was first implemented.

“Each one of us in the team knows what it’s like to go hungry or not know when our next meal will be. We could feel their pain,” says Rampal, whose own family of five had to rely on the daily wages of her cart-puller father to survive. “As a team, we wanted to help them financially, but through a way that we know best.” A 15-day fitness challenge was launched in late April, with each player posting exercises ranging from Spiderman push-ups to pogo hops, and tagging 10 people who donated 100 once they accepted the challenge on their respective social media platforms. “Exercise has a way of infusing positivity and that is the kind of sentiment we wanted to spread with this initiative,” adds Rampal, who dedicated her recent Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award not just to her team but also to the country’s COVID warriors. “Right from our doctors and nurses to our police force, BMC workers, and so many others who have been working selflessly for us all at the cost of their own health.”

Coming back to the current training and mindset of the players, coach Marijne says that the team (several of whom have won prestigious national and international awards in the recent past for their exceptional performances) is focused and hungry for a win. “They’ve had a good break with their families and have come back more determined than ever. I see a huge change in each of their personalities since I took over as coach in 2017. They each have this sense of ownership now. They know their responsibilities so well, that even when they were home these last few months, they stuck to their strict diets and followed the workouts devised for each one of them while ensuring they kept safe,” adds Marijne, who instilled strong self-belief in the players after their confidence took a beating after Rio. 

In addition to spending time on in-depth research on their opponents from the different countries participating in the Olympics (each had to make a presentation on their findings to the coaching staff), the girls, who come primarily from rural areas and non-English speaking schools, signed up for English lessons online to help them communicate better not just with their coach, but also with the international players they meet at tournaments.

Being a close-knit team, it hasn’t been all work and no play. “We had a pizza party quite recently, though most of us barely had any as we are all very mindful of our fitness, but we danced and did a lot of masti. We are like family and we keep motivating each other,” says Punia. Make no mistake though, apart from the occasional spot of leisure, practice is on, in full swing, and the team has its eye trained firmly on the most coveted prize in the world. She adds, “It was tough for us to stay away from the hockey stick and the ball for so long. We’re all overjoyed to be back on the field. It’s where we belong.” 

The India women’s national field hockey team currently ranked ninth in the world, consists of Rani Rampal (captain), Savita Punia (vice-captain), Bichu Devi Kharibam, Deep Grace Ekka, Gurjit Kaur, Jyoti, Lalremsiami, Lilima Minz, Manpreet Kaur, Monika, Namita Toppo, Navjot Kaur, Navneet Kaur, Neha Goyal, Nikki Pradhan, Nisha, Rajni Etimarpu, Rajwinder Kaur, Reena Khokhar, Salima Tete, Sharmila Devi, Sonika, Sushila Chanu Pukhrambam, Udita, and Vandana Katariya

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Photograph courtesy Hockey India

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