The Indian Women’s team star forward Lalremsiami was delighted with the growth of hockey through different districts of Mizoram. Lalremsiami has earned over 100 International Caps for the Indian team and is Mizoram’s first Olympian hockey player. Hockey India has done a great job for launching their program “ Hockey India ka Abhiyan Har Ghar Ho Hockey Ki Pechan” This program has given a chance to teams from different districts to be involved and Lalremsiami is happy for the young players.
The captivating forward shared her thoughts and said, “When I took up the sport about eight-nine years ago, there were fewer players taking up hockey as there was more focus on football. I came into the national program after getting selected for the National Hockey Academy in New Delhi. But now there are many more players coming up in the state from far-off districts as the state association is actively hosting camps and local events.”
The star of the Indian Women’s team has applauded the efforts of her state’s Junior Women’s team as they finished with a silver medal at the 1st Hockey India Junior Women East zone championship in Khunti ( Ranchi ). Her Staes’s Junior Women’s team had an impressive showing in the competition winning 4 out of 5 matches in the pool and losing the final on shootouts. Lalremiami praised her by stating “We are all immensely proud of our Junior Team for their outstanding performance in the inaugural Hockey India Junior Women East Zone Championship 2023. Their commitment, hard work, and team spirit were truly admirable and inspired us all, and I’d like to take this opportunity to congratulate them on a job well done!”
The forward is nicknamed Siami by her teammates and had to work hard her whole life to reach this level, she was selected for a state government-run program in Thenzawl in 2016, and later on, she was picked for the U-18 Junior Indian team and subsequently played for the National team and represented them in the prestigious Olympic Games 2020 in Tokyo.
“It makes me feel very proud and happy to see more players coming into the junior camps from the North East. Many youngsters now feel like they can make a career out of hockey which will help them provide a financially stable life for themselves and their families,” added the attacking forward who also doubles up as a halfback.
Speaking about her meteoric rise in the Indian Women’s side, Siami said, “It’s been a great journey so far. I never thought I would play more than 100 matches for India so fast in my career. I still have a long way to go and it’s been great to be part of the Indian Women’s Hockey team’s new era where we are doing well in top international tournaments,”
Next up, the team is looking to further improve their performance at the Asian Games in China. In 2018, the team ended their campaign with a Silver medal and in 2014 they won a Bronze medal. “Back in 2018, we lost the Final very closely to Japan. As youngsters back then, some of us were quite happy to win a Silver medal but now in hindsight I feel like we came so close to a historic Gold medal. Our aim this time is to win Gold and qualify for the Olympics for the third consecutive time,” Siami said.
The Indian Women’s Team is based at SAI, Bengaluru for the National Coaching Camp.
