New Indian Express: Against all odds, here’s how women hockey players made it to Rio Olympics

By Vivek Phadnis

The grit and determination on faces of the women hockey players often reveals the bigger picture. Many have had to endure hardships just to make it here, training for the Rio Olympics. Poverty, lack of proper equipment, bad pitches, no specialised support staff, and perhaps even coaches not well versed with modern coaching methods — these are some of the challenges beginners face. Consider this. If a talented player from some remote region in Odisha hones his or her skills on natural grass or gravel, it is probably going to be a nightmare if the player has to switch to artificial turf. Precious time is lost in re-learning, and adjusting, to the new surface. Apart from all these, some even have had to put up with gender discrimination.

Still, for those who have set their minds and goals on achieving something in hockey — like making the Indian team for World Cup, Champions Trophy or even the Olympics — these troubles do not matter. On-field, external pressures are kept aside, and there is only the game.

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Shahabad is a small town in Haryana’s Kurukshetra district, and is known for producing good players. But for girls there, it has been a struggle. Many come from humble economic backgrounds, and cannot afford equipment. In ages past, it was a struggle for them to take up sport, living in a male-dominated society. Removing their veils was big, let alone playing in shorts. Fortunately, times have changed, and one can see a good number of girls at the only academy in the town, set up by Olympian Baldev Singh, who also helps with equipment. The academy has about 60 players.

Rani Rampal, Navjot Kaur and Jaspreet Kaur are happy to talk about their story, from the days of severe gender discrimination to playing for India at the Rio Olympics. “Hockey is in our blood,” say the girls.

“Everybody in Shahabad is crazy about hockey, and every house has someone playing. Our coach Baldev Singh is very good. But there are lots of families not doing very well, and lots of girls from such households play hockey. Some don’t have fathers or brothers. Baldev sir provides them with sticks and shoes. He never lets us feel we’re from poor families. Senior players also give juniors equipment. When we were young, our seniors used to do the same, and now we’re doing so. This is the good thing about that place. Our coach also believes that kids from poor families work harder,” they add.

It wasn’t always smooth. “Things have changed, and girls from every other house play. When our coach started the academy, it was in a Punjabi school, and girls were not allowed to remove dupattas from their heads. And it was difficult for them to play with shorts. But he made the school staff understand that we should do something our country can be proud of, something that will benefit girls. He took it as a challenge to eliminate discrimination against girls in Haryana. He wanted to do something that would make them proud of girls. He has done that, and all parents want a girl who plays hockey now,” the girls opine.

The previous generations had to struggle to even start playing. They had not imagined they would represent India, or that hockey would help them get jobs. Parents did not know too. The girls were also discouraged from playing due to gender bias. It was difficult to even go outside. “There was a lot of negativity, but things have changed. We thank our parents for giving us a chance to do something.”

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Captain Sushila Chanu, Anuradha Devi and Lily Chanu are from Manipur, and had other issues. They may not have had the best of infrastructure, and sport was probably hit by insurgency. But the biggest problem they faced was lack of knowledge about the game. Being a region that loves sport, it is natural for boys and girls to take up a discipline no matter how difficult the circumstances.

Sushila’s family encouraged her to take up sport, and supported her. But with Lily and Anuradha, the stories are different. Being from small towns, infrastructure was a premium.

“I loved football, and in my town, it is very popular. But there were no girls playing hockey. My brother and other boys used to play. I would try playing with the equipment my brother had, and that is how I learned basics. There were about 50 girls who played hockey in my town, but I did not join them. Later, there was a tournament, and they were forming a team. That’s when they put my name down,” said Anuradha.

For Lily, it was a lack of knowledge. “We didn’t know much about all this, but we used to see sport on TV. Our families encouraged us to reach that level. We did not know anything about the Olympics because we had not qualified for a while. Our generation had never seen the women’s team qualify,” she said.

Women’s team stalwarts like Surajlata Devi, Tingonleima Chanu and Sanggai Chanu are role models for girls from the North East region. “Thoiba Singh is popular, but not as much as footballers and boxers. However, hockey’s popularity grew after Surajlata, Tingonleima and Sanggai made it to the Indian team,” the trio says.

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Odisha is the country’s hockey hotbed at present. When one talks about the sport and the state, many names come to mind. Dilip Tirkey, Lazarus Barla, Ignace Tirkey, Prabodh Tirkey, William Xalxo, Bimal Lakra, Birendra Lakra, Roshan Minz, Jyoti Kullu and Subhadra Pradhan are some of the top players to have emerged from the sports hostel in Panposh, Sundargarh district, and also other places in the state.

Adivasi people love their hockey, and take to it readily, which helps produce players for the national team. There are few turfs, but nowhere near the real requirement. It is much better now, as many had to play on natural grass earlier. There are sports hostels, and a Sports Au­thority of India centre (Bhuban­eshwar), but it is still tough for some pl­ayers. Deep Grace Ekka’s is an example. There is no road in her village, and paths are narrow, with only bikes being able to pass. Sunita Lakra, Namita Toppo and others have only had it marginally better. “There is no road in my village,” Grace chuckled. “I had to come by bike, and then board the bus. Sundargarh is very far, and there is a thick jungle in between.”

Tribal regions have slowly started to learn about trials. “People didn’t know earlier, but now they know that trials are conducted regularly. In the inter-city Gold Cup which started last year, villagers and hostel people also played,” the girls said.

With big families at home, it gets difficult, they say. But they are happy that hockey has given them a good life. “Firstly, we’re playing for India, and we never thought we would visit so many countries. If we had not played, such chances would not have come our way. Even if we had studied and taken up jobs, we would not have learned so much,” the girls remarked.

Educated people in villages find out about players through newspapers. “They all know that we play, but may not know that we’re playing at the Olympics,” the girls note.

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The common factor is that players have had to struggle to make it to the Indian team. Hopefully, making it to the Olympics after 36 years will put spotlight on the women, and things will improve.