As the Indian women’s hockey team has scripted history storming into the semi-finals of the Tokyo Olympics, the women’s hockey academy which has played a nursery for Indian hockey in the last 15 years stands proudly in Gwalior.
Founded in year 2006 by then minister of Sports and Youth Welfare Yashodhara Raje Scindia, the academy has nurtured most of the players who took part at Rio and at Tokyo games. Under the watchful eyes of head coach Paramjeet Singh, the Mahila Hockey Academy in Gwalior has been shaping up the Indian women’s hockey.
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Several former and current trainees including Sushila Chanu, Monika, Reena Khokhar, trained in academy in 2010-11 are part of the national side that will take on Argentina in semi-final match on Wednesday.
For the Rio games, the academy had sent a contingent of seven players including Chanu (skipper), Poonam Rani, Renuka Yadav, Monika, Preeti Dubey, and HL Feli. “We had started academies in year 2006-07 and within next eight years, we had helped the national side with our seven players qualify for the Olympics which was no ordinary feat," Minister for Sports and Youth Welfare Yashodhara Raje Scindia told News18.
“CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan assumed office in year 2005 and we had a sports budget of Rs 3-4 cr which we hiked in later years," said the minister.
“Through this Mahila hockey academy and other sports academies, I wanted to tap rural talent and bring take them to another level which exactly has happened in all these years," said Raje.
“We used to put players under rigorous training and sub-junior players were taken to Holland every year as the country has some excellent clubs out there," claimed Raje, saying “this ensured that these players in junior-level were up for selection for hockey federation and Hockey India later on.
“In every national camp, we always have 10-15 of our academy players and the junior hockey team that toured Chile in Jan 2021, its academy players — Suman Devi Thoudam as skipper and Ishika Chaudhary as vice-captain — were present.
“Unfortunately, due to covid19, we could not arrange these tours in last two years, she said."
Meanwhile, the manner in which the women’s team has bounced back at Tokyo seems exceptional, the body language and aggression is top class. If they have beaten number one Australia, it automatically makes them number one in the world, said the minister saying, “gold is not far from them."
“In men’s hockey, our players Vivek Sagar and Neelkanata Sharma are part of the national team. Young shooter Aishwary Singh Tomar is another find of the MP academies. Tomar is part of the Tokyo shooting squad.
Raje credited head coach Paramjeet Singh for shaping up the academy since the outset. Singh speaking to News18, recounted how the academy started in year 2006, during a time when the players had to train at a rented ground of sports university.
However, astroturf was bought in 2010 and floodlights, modern equipment followed in shortly. “We put them under rigorous training and took them to Holland every year and this showed a marked improvement and other academies also were forced to lift their game," said Singh.
“There wasn’t any women’s hockey culture in MP and the scenario was dominated by states like Punjab, Haryana and Jharkhand when we started," recounted Singh adding this had forced them to reserve half the seats (12) for outside players.
“Hockey India, Sports Authority of India, hockey academies and the Khelo India campaign have done a lot in last 10-15 years and the results are visible now," the coach said on Indian women’s hockey’s exponential rise, especially in Tokyo.
“As far as recruitment is concerned, we enroll girls from 10-11 years to 15-16, depending on the skillset the player has," said the Punjab native coach who contributed 15 years to MP academy.
Asked about absence of MP native players in Olympic squad, Singh was quick to add that reaching Olympics is a long-term process and MP players have done well at sub-junior, junior and university and national levels. “In upcoming Olympics in year 2024, 2028 and 2032, you will see dominance of MP players in national team," said Singh.
He named players like Raina Yadav, Rina Rathore, Nilu Dadia, Shyama Tidgam, Priyanka Wankhede, goalkeeper Divya, Gwalior native Karishma Yadav and Ishika Chaudhary as the ones who have excelled at different levels.
“Ishika had joined the Gwalior hockey academy in 2011 at age of 11 and had been part of sub-junior, junior and junior national team besides winner of Silver at 2018 Youth Olympics.
“It was a collective effort but it was MP which took the lead in women’s hockey under minister Yashodhara Raje Scindia who started to change things for the sport," claimed the coach urging women’s team at Tokyo to keep up the hard work and focus on the defence in the matches to come. “If they keep the form, Gold or Silver isn’t impossible.”
Former India captain Madhu Yadav, lauded the resilience of the women’s team at Tokyo saying they need to continue the form to script history. She lauded railways for backing women’s hockey saying 12 of the national players are from railways presently.
Asked how things have panned for women’s hockey over the years, Yadav claimed things have improved drastically from their times.
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