Pioneers, that’s what they were. As popular as present day stars like Rani Rampal & Co, they carved a niche for themselves in far more difficult times.

Therefore, when the Government of India announced a new scheme to motivate players, the annual Arjuna Award, women hockey players bid for a place in the roll of honour.

Bengal’s Ann Lumsden was the first women hockey player to win the award in 1962, the inaugural year. Prithipal Singh won the honour in the men’s section.

Three years later, the coveted award went to Mysore’s (now Karnataka) Elvira Britto, the most illustrious of the famed Britto Sisters. In 1966, Delhi’s Sunita Puri received  the prestigious award.

However, there was a lull for a decade as far as the women were concerned as the men collected the award annually. Otilla Mascarenhas won the 1973 award to break the drought.

These players of the 1960s and 70s laid the foundation for women’s hockey in India who now appear in, not only the World Cup, but the Olympics as well.

Their pioneering role, stardom and vision made India one of the leading nations in the amateur world of field hockey.

www.stick2hockey.com salutes these souls on the occasion of International Women’s Day.