Haryana has emerged as the new centre of power in Indian women’s hockey. The girls from Haryana are not only making waves at the international level — with the Indian team, which comprised 35 percent Haryana players, achieving a best-ever fifth-place finish at the World Cup — but they are also dominating the junior circuit at the national level.
Recently, Haryana became the champion of the 16th Hockey India Junior Women National Championship in Pune. In fact, the Haryana team got sweet revenge for last year’s final defeat, beating defending champions Jharkhand 2-1 in the final. Haryana had lost to Jharkhand by the same scoreline in last year’s final at Kakinada.
Haryana coach Azad Singh Malik said the state had won the national title after a gap of three years. Haryana had also won the championship in 2021 and 2022. In the previous three editions, the team had finished runners-up once and third twice.
The Haryana team had remained unbeaten throughout the junior national championship that concluded last week. The team opened its campaign with a 10-1 win over Bengal and followed it with a 3-0 victory over Odisha. In the quarter-final, Haryana defeated Chandigarh 3-1 before cruising to an 8-0 victory over Chhattisgarh in the semi-final.
In the final, Jharkhand took the lead through Mundri Saroj in the 19th minute. Haryana equalised when Bhavya converted a penalty corner in the 23rd minute. Khushi then scored in the 42nd minute to put Haryana ahead and seal the title, Malik said.
The coach said the team had steadily emerged as a strong force at the national level and the current squad had proved its mettle in a tournament featuring several promising young players. Bhavya was named the Player of the Tournament, while Supreet was adjudged the Best Forward.
The Haryana team comprised Ishika, Bhavya, Jasmine, Tamanna, Sakshi and Khushi from Sonepat; Deepika, Himanshi, Kirti, Aditi, Anjali, Diksha, Shashi Khasa, Durga and Vanshishika from Hisar; and Anjani and Sukhpreet Kaur from Kurukshetra.
Importantly, most of these players are from the rural background belonging to families of farming and working classes.
The title assumed significance as the Haryana women’s hockey team has achieved it despite the lack of adequate facilities, including qualified coaches and infrastructure at the grassroots level, say hockey lovers.
The performance of the players from Haryana indicated the potential to play an important role in taking the national team to the top at the international level, including the World Cup and the Olympics, they maintained.
Within the state of Haryana, the women hockey has expanded to Sonepat and Hisar, in addition to its traditional centre, Shahbad, in the Kurukshetra district in recent years. A majority of the players in the present junior team are from these three districts, which include eight players from Sonepat and several others from Hisar and Kurukshetra.
Former Indian captain and coach Pritam Siwach, who trains young players at her academy in Sonepat, said the achievements of Haryana’s hockey players had been overshadowed by the popularity of other sports and needed greater promotion.
She said the current junior squad from Haryana had several players who could soon make debut in the senior Indian team.
“About five or six players are expected to make their transition in the Indian team next year, while some of the younger players also have the potential to make it later on,” she said. The players with the national team potential are Bhavya, Ishika, Khushi, Tamanna, Shashi and Supreet.
Siwach said the players were now receiving support from the Sports Authority of India (SAI) in Sonepat and increasing competition had contributed to the emergence of a stronger pool of players. However, she said the lack of grassroots facilities, particularly qualified coaches in the districts and astroturfs, could further harness the Haryana’s potential.
The success of Haryana’s junior team comes in the backdrop of best ever performance of the Indian team in the women hockey world cup with fifth position recently. The Hockey India has announced a reward of Rs 50 lakh to the Indian women’s hockey team for the same.
Notably, as many as seven of the 20 players in the Indian squad for the Asian Games are from Haryana, accounting for 35 per cent of the team which has headed to Japan including goalkeeper Savita Punia from Sirsa; defenders Jyoti and Shilpi Dabas from Shahbad in Kurukshetra; midfielders Sakshi Rana and Neha Goyal from Sonepat; and forwards Navneet Kaur from Shahbad and Deepika from Hisar.
Azad Singh Malik said Savita Punia, a resident of Jodhkan village in Sirsa district, remained an important part of the Indian side. Punia, who has been known as the ‘Wall of India’ for her performances as a goalkeeper, has spent her crucial years of training in Haryana and remains an important player for the national team. She was recently awarded the Padma Shri for her contribution to Indian hockey.
