The Indian Women’s Hockey Team, captained by Salima Tete, are in England for the FIH Pro League and ahead of their first fixture over the weekend, the squad joined in a diaspora celebration organised by the High Commission of India in London.
In line with the Indian Men’s Hockey Team’s felicitations last year, the women’s team was greeted with strains of ‘Chak De India’ as the gathering applauded their many achievements screened at the event.
Indian High Commissioner to the UK Vikram Doraiswami said: “Each one of them represents every part of India and every region and community of India. Their stories are the most wonderful stories of what is possible in India.
“Each one of these girls is a story of sacrifice and struggle by their parents, and also a story of triumph and of spirit. These young ladies inspire every one of us today because what they have achieved tells us that there is no ceiling to human ambition, there is no ceiling in a country like India – where anything and everything can be possible.
“We really look forward to being able to come and support you and to tell everybody what great stuff is happening in Indian hockey and what great stuff Indian women are doing in changing India. Every goal that you score, every game that you play and every day that you train and get better, India becomes a better country. And for that thank you very, very much.”
Australian High Commissioner to the UK Stephen Smith, who was among the special guests at the event noted: “The reason that Australia has become so good at hockey is because the Indians taught us everything.
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“In Australia, as in every continent in the world, there is a large Indian diaspora and in the 1950s and 1960s that Indian diaspora taught Australians how to play hockey. It is the case that we adjusted to the artificial turf game, and what I call the horizontal game, better or more quickly than India. But that doesn't mean that India is not a hockey playing country to be admired, both in the men's game and in the women's game.”
The Deputy High Commissioner of India to the UK, Sujit Ghosh, hosted an engaging and fun interactive session with some of the team’s players and coach Harendra Singh, who described India as the “Vishwa Guru in hockey”.
“Yes, there are ups and downs in this journey, but I am extremely proud to see what our women’s team has achieved in the last few years,” he said, encouraging members of the diaspora to continue to turn out in large numbers to cheer the team on as they play their matches over the course of the next few weeks at the Lee Valley Hockey and Tennis Centre, Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, London.
*Info: FIH Pro League
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