India Women’s Hockey Team

India’s women’s hockey team stands ninth in FIH ranking. The State Government of Odisha has been sponsoring both men’s & women’s Indian hockey team since February 2018. The state government will support both the teams until 2022.

HISTORY

Indian Women’s Hockey Team came to prominence in the sport of hockey with their breakthrough performance at the 1974 Women’s Hockey World Cup at Mandelieu, secured fourth place. In Olympic history, a women’s event was held for the first time at the Moscow Summer Olympics in 1980. Arguably, the Indian hockey team showcased their best performance in the league in that event. The team also earned a gold medal at the 1982 Asian Games,  held in New Delhi where they defeated Korea in the finals.

Under the leadership of Captain Suraj Lata Devi, the Indian team achieved gold medals for three consecutive years at various events in the 2003 Afro- Asian Games, the 2004 Hockey Asia Cup and the 2002 Commonwealth Games. After their 2004 victory, the members of the Indian Women’s Hockey Team were titled as the “assi (Jasjeet) jaisi koi nahi” or the “Golden Girls of Hockey.” They secured the third place at the Women’s Hockey Asia Cup 2013 after defeating China in Kuala Lumpur. The team finished in the fifth position at the Commonwealth Games in 2014. In the same year, the Indian team earned their bronze medal at the Asian Games. The Indian team completed on top & qualified for the next stage of the Women’s FIH Hockey World League. The team finished in the 5th position at the World League Semifinals after defeating Japan. For the first time, the Indian Women’s Hockey Team qualified for the Summer Olympics 2016. They failed in the group stage but the team secured 6th position.

The Indian team also competed at the Commonwealth Games 2002 under the captainship of Suraj Lata Devi. The team won the semifinals after beating the Australian Women’s National Field Hockey team. In the finals, they secured the first position after defeating the English Women’s hockey team. Bollywood film about Women’s field hockey, Chak De! India was inspired by this instance.

ACHIEVEMENTS

SUMMER OLYMPICS

  • 4TH position: 1980, Moscow, USSR
  • 12TH position: 2016, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

WORLD CUP

  • 4TH position: 1974, Mandelieu, France
  • 7th position: 1978, Madrid, Spain
  • 11th position: 1983, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
  • 12th position: 1998, Utrecht, Netherlands
  • 11th position: 2006, Madrid, Spain
  • 9th position: 2010, Rosario, Argentina
  • 8th position: 2018, London, England

ASIAN GAMES

  • Gold: 1982, New Delhi, India
  • Bronze: 1986, Seoul, South Korea
  • 4th position: 1990, Beijing, China
  • 4th position: 1994, Hiroshima, Japan
  • Silver: 1998, Bangkok, Thailand
  • 4th position: 2002, Busan, South Korea
  • Bronze: 2006, Doha, Qatar
  • 4th position: 2010, Guangzhou, China
  • Bronze: 2014, Incheon, South Korea
  • Silver: 2018, Jakarta, Indonesia

CHAMPIONS CHALLENGE

  • Bronze: 2002, Johannesburg, South Africa
  • 7th position: 2011, Dublin, Ireland
  • 7th position: 2012, Dublin, Ireland
  • 8th position: 2014, Glasgow, Scotland

AFRO-ASIAN GAMES

  • Gold: 2003, Hyderabad, India

WORLD LEAGUE

  • 14TH position: 2012-13, San Miguel de Tucuman, Argentina
  • 10th position: 2014-15, Rosario, Argentina
  • 16th position: 2016-17, Auckland, New Zealand

COMMONWEALTH GAMES

  • 4th position: 1998, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
  • Gold: 2002, Manchester, England
  • Silver: 2006, Melbourne, England
  • 5th position: 2010, New Delhi, India
  • 5th position: 2014, Glasgow, Scotland
  • 4th position: 2018, Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia

ASIA CUP

  • 4TH position: 1989, Hong Kong
  • Bronze: 1993, Hiroshima, Japan
  • Silver: 1999, New Delhi, India
  • Gold: 2004, New Delhi, India
  • 4th position: 2007, Hong Kong
  • Silver: 2009, Bangkok, Thailand
  • Bronze: 2013, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
  • Gold: 2017, Kakamigahara, Gifu, Japan

ASIAN CHAMPIONS TROPHY

  • Bronze: 2010, Busan, South Korea
  • 4th position: 2011, Ordos, China
  • Silver: 2013, Kakamigahara, Japan
  • Gold: 2016, Singapore
  • Silver: 2018, Donghae City

AWARDS

  • Rani Devi received the Most Promising Young Player of the Tournament award in 2008 Women’s Hockey Field Hockey Olympic Qualifier
  • Sanggai Chanu received the Young Player of the Tournament award in 2001 Women’s Hockey World Cup Qualifier
  • Jyoti Sunita Kullu received the Topscorer award for five goals in the 2002 Hockey Champions Challenge
  • Dhyan Chand Award- Mary Dsouza Sequeira (1953-1963)
  • Arjuna Awards for 18 players including two former captains

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

Nickname- Nabhvarna

Association- Hockey India

Confederation- ASHF (Asia)

Coach- Sjoerd Marijne

Assistant Coach- Erik Wonink

Manager- Kumar C.R.

Captain- Rani Rampal

Leave a Reply