Women's Asian Champions Trophy: Oppourtunity for fit-again forward Mumtaz

Her recent exposure to world-class opposition, including India’s tour against Argentina, has strengthened her confidence.

For the last few months, ace forward Mumtaz Khan was missing from the scene, but in reality she was working hard at the Sports Authority of India’s Lucknow centre under the watchful eyes of coach Rashid Aziz Khan on the blue turf.

Mumtaz Khan for India. (HT)

Mumtaz’s hard work paid off as she made the Indian women’s hockey side for the Women’s Asian Champions Trophy set to begin on November 19. Her selection is more than a squad announcement as it is the latest chapter in a career defined by resilience, reinvention and an unshakeable belief in her own ability.

The Lucknow-born forward has been named in India’s 18-member squad, returning to the senior national setup at a moment when her experience, pace and finishing could prove decisive. “It’s a great reward to her hard work during the last few months and even I was expecting her to be in the Indian side for Japan's Asian Games,” said coach Khan on Thursday.

“It’s a new lease of life to her and I am sure that she will make use of the opportunity and kick start her new journey in the game,” he added.

In fact, Mumtaz’s hockey journey did not begin with grand ambitions or a carefully mapped pathway. It began in school, where she first watched friends play and eventually picked up a stick herself. Her parents, who run a vegetable shop in Topkhana area of State Capital, initially wanted her to prioritise studies, but hockey gradually became more than a pastime; it became her identity.

A turning point came when coach Neelam Siddiqui, wife of coach Rashid Aziz Khan, recognised her potential and encouraged her father to let her pursue the sport seriously. Mumtaz joined Lucknow’s state government-run KD Singh ‘Babu’ Hockey Hostel in 2014, where she learned the fundamentals that would later shape her into one of India’s most promising attacking players.

From those early days, she carried an ambition larger than herself: to win medals for India at the Asian Games and Olympics. That dream has remained constant through every setback.

Injury, doubt and determination

Mumtaz’s rise was interrupted in 2019, when she suffered an ACL injury in her left knee. For a young athlete whose game depends on sharp movement, acceleration and fearless attacking instincts, the injury threatened to derail everything she had built.

Yet it also revealed her character. Rather than allowing uncertainty to consume her, Mumtaz received an opportunity to rehabilitate with the senior Indian team, supported by professional physiotherapists and elite facilities. She worked patiently through recovery, rebuilt her fitness and returned to competitive hockey.

Her comeback was not merely about returning to the field. It was about proving that an injury could change her body’s rhythm, but not her purpose. She later played the Junior World Cup, scored goals and showed that she could still deliver when it mattered most.

Mumtaz shot into the limelight when she first made her mark in junior hockey, winning bronze at the 4th Girls U-18 Asia Cup in 2016, silver at the 6-Nations Invitational Tournament in 2018, and gold at the Cantor Fitzgerald U21 International 4-Nations Tournament in 2019. Those results established her as a forward with both talent and temperament.

Her senior-team breakthrough came at the 2025 Women’s Asia Cup in Hangzhou, where she made her first major senior international appearance. Despite the pressure of representing India at that level for the first time, she finished as India’s joint-highest scorer with six goals, including a hat-trick against Singapore.

That tournament confirmed what those who had followed her junior career already knew: Mumtaz was ready for the biggest stage. Her earlier experience in the FIH Hockey Pro League, where she faced structured European sides such as the Netherlands, helped her adapt to the demands of senior international hockey.

Now, Mumtaz Khan returns to the Indian squad for the Women’s Asian Champions Trophy with a sharper sense of what it takes to compete at the highest level. Her recent exposure to world-class opposition, including India’s tour against Argentina, has strengthened her confidence and given the team valuable lessons ahead of major assignments.

For Mumtaz, this comeback is not simply a return to familiar colours. It is an opportunity to translate years of struggle, rehabilitation and quiet preparation into performances that matter. She knows that Indian hockey needs forwards who can create chances, finish under pressure and inspire belief when matches tighten.