Having fought adversity as a child, Deepika ready to battle it out for glory Down Under

Kolkata: As the Indian women's hockey team begins their campaign Down Under against Australia A in Perth on Saturday, one of the many youngsters who will hope to impress coach Harendra Singh and cement their place in the side is Deepika Soreng.
She is one of the five players in the touring side from Jharkhand and will be a key to the coach's plans as far as scoring is concerned. Another product of Simdega Hockey and trained by coach Pratima Barwa, Soreng, however, didn't have a very happy childhood growing up in one of the most impoverished districts of the country.
"My father passed away when I was very young and my mother went off to work as a labourer in Odisha. It was my elder brother who took care of me and made sure I could follow my dreams," said Soreng during an interaction upon the team's arrival in Australia. "Although my mother wasn't there, she kept sending us money so that all our needs were met."
Deepika's mother Friska now works in Rourkela and saw her girl play for the first time when she took part in the maiden Women's HIL for Soorma Hockey Club. While watching her daughter play was special, Friska couldn't hold back her joy when she heard Deepika was going to play in Australia.
"My mother was immensely proud when I gave her the news. It was the first time she heard the name of the country and she kept telling me to play well," said the young forward.
All this might not have been possible had she not studied in RC Upgraded Middle School in Karangaguri where Father Benedict Kujur had a rule where every student had to bring a hockey stick to school. As a result, the game became part of her life from a very young age and she never let go of it.
As years went by, she kept improving by leaps and bounds and successfully made it to the junior India team where she had a terrific 2023. Her efforts helped her win the Hockey India Upcoming Player of the Year and later got a call-up to the senior team last year.
She played four Pro League matches during India's tour to Europe before the Olympics but she failed to make the cut over the next few months. However, the 21-year-old has a got another golden opportunity to show her skills and she can't wait to take the field.
"I want to make sure that I combine well with the team and give my best. Since Australia play a high-press game, we also want to play full press against them and have been training in similar fashion during the camp in Bengaluru," said Soreng.
Although not new to the setup, what has helped Deepika in the recent days is Hanrendra's coaching technique. "He does get angry at times but he makes sure that we understand what he is teaching us," she added.
One hopes he will be able to guide her to even greater heights now so that she can make her family and the country proud.