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Chak de in Tokyo: Proud of our daughters, say kin of women hockey players from Haryana
Nine members of this historic team are from Haryana-- three of them from Kurukshetra’s Shahbad, three from Sonepat, two from Hisar and one from Sirsa.
As the Indian women’s hockey team stormed into the semi-finals on Monday, beating World No 2 Australia by 1-0, their families back home revelled in joy.
Nine players in the 16-member squad are from Haryana-- three of them from Kurukshetra’s Shahbad, three from Sonepat, two from Hisar and one from Sirsa.
A ‘ziddi’ daughter to team India’s captain
Led by skipper Rani Rampal, this is the first-ever Indian women’s hockey team to reach the semi-finals.
“Our daughter has made us proud,” said an elated Rampal, the father of skipper Rani Rampal at his residence in Shahbad, almost 200 km from the national capital.
Youngest of the three siblings, she started playing hockey in Class 5 after seeing girls her age going to play in a ground near her school. Her mother Ram Murti, 53, added it was her daughter’s ‘zidd’ (obstinacy) that brought her this far.
“Our family saw tough times; we couldn’t even afford a hockey stick for our daughter. But she was determined and under the guidance of her coach, Baldev, she earned this honour,” said the 27-year-old skipper’s father who drove a horse-cart almost all his life to provide for the family.
The proud parents added, “We were clueless about the sport. At a time when girls were not even allowed to step outside their homes, we encouraged her to pursue her dreams. We would urge all parents to treat their daughters the way they would treat their sons.”
Another local girl, defender Navjot Kaur, 25, was also inspired by other girls going to a hockey ground near their house and started playing at the age of 10, her father Satnam Singh, a shocker mechanic said.
Goalie Savita Punia’s saves did the trick
While Gurjit Kaur scored the first and only goal of the match in the second quarter, Sirsa girl Savita Punia remained a solid wall as she saved nine goals in the match.
Talking over the phone, 31-year-old Punia’s father, Mahender Singh Punia, who works as a pharmacist at a public health centre in Sirsa, said, “Savita has fulfilled the dream of her late grandfather who got her enrolled in hockey at the age of 14.”
“In her early days, Savita used to travel 30 kms from Jodhkan to Sirsa to sharpen her hockey skills. Later, she got a hostel facility and she used to visit home on weekends,” he added.
Her mother, Leelavati Punia, said,” My daughter had to carry an extra bag for the goalkeeping kit during her travel on private buses. Many times, the conductors refused to let her travel seeing her two big bags. She complained several times that the conductors used to kick her bag aside,” she added.
The others in the team from the state include Navjot Kaur, Neha Goyal, Monika Malik, Navneet Kaur, Nisha, Sharmila Devi and Udita.
Nisha’s father Sohrab Mohammad, said they had shifted to Sonepat from Uttar Pradesh’s Moradabad 50 years ago. “I have three daughters and a son. My other two daughters are married. I was a tailor but due to paralysis, I have been unable to work since 2016. My wife Mahrun had started working at a factory but eventually, Nisha got a job in the Indian Railways through sports quota and became the sole breadwinner of the family. For the last many years, she has been waking up at 5 in the morning for practice sessions. I am hoping that the Indian girls will make us proud,” Sohrab added.
Haryana sports minister and ex-captain of the Indian men’s hockey team, Sandeep Singh, also congratulated the team for the victory. “Hopefully this time, the Olympic medal will be ours,” he wrote on Twitter. Home minister Anil Vij also spoke to Rani Rampal over the phone to congratulate the team.
