Encouraged by her grandfather, Mahinder Singh, to take up hockey and then join the Sports Authority of India (SAI) centre at Hisar, there was no stopping for this Haryanvi girl. Savita Punia, who is an Indian field hockey player and is a member of the Indian women’s national field hockey team, hails from Haryana and plays as the goalkeeper. She is also known as the “Great Wall of India” because of her phenomenal performance in the 2020 Summer Olympics, though the team missed the bronze medal in Tokyo Olympic 2020 by just a margin. We spoke exclusively with Savita Punia, Indian women hockey team captain and goalkeeper…below are the excerpts….
Q. You are known as the “Wall of Indian Hockey”, how does it feel and how has the journey been from the scratch to clinching this title?
A. Yes, it definitely feels good. But this honour comes with immense responsibility. Because if anything goes wrong, God forbid, or if we ever miss on any point or any medal, being the captain, I have to be ready to take the critics, blame, and even the brickbats very positively. And yes, it’s a vice versa too, because when we emerge victorious, then I am the one who receives the most accolades. But I will confess that such recognition boosts your confidence manifolds and you feel like achieving much more for your country.
About the journey I can say that initially I was not too interested in the game, but later, when my father spent twenty thousand rupees on my hockey kit, I started to see the game in a new light and got serious about it. In 2007, I was picked for my first national camp in Lucknow, and I was lucky enough to get trained by a top goalkeeper.
Q. So, how are the preparations going on for Asian games and Paris Olympics 2024?
A. Definitely, the love and respect we received after the Tokyo Olympics is still very fresh in our minds. The whole team wants to repay the gratitude in the form of a medal in the coming Paris Olympics of 2024. Actually, the love from all of you is the motivation that constantly encourages us to push our boundaries.
So, preparations for the Asian Games and Paris Olympics 2024 are on the good track and we can ensure that we will give our best to achieve what we missed last time. Yeah, first target is Asian Games.
Q. This time in CWG 2022 Indian Women’s Hockey team created history, your reaction?
A. Yes, the credit goes to the entire team for sure. After the Tokyo Olympics, we did a lot of hard work. We, under the guidance of our coaches, were already in the mindset of giving a rocking performance. And so we did. Of course, a medal is a medal, so we have to bring a medal for India in the Asian Games. After all, it has been a very long wait of 16 years.
Just a second ago, I was talking to my coach on the phone regarding this only. To be honest, there isn’t a single day that goes by that we don’t talk about “Oh, this tactic is unbeatable,” “Yeah, let’s restore the last one,” “Oh, let’s do this, let’s do that,” so our game is getting better by the day. One match we play and we draw learnings, we often predict that Ok this match is easy, we can easily win it, and so I mean to say that every experienced player is well aware of the intensity of the matches he or she is going to play. And we even know the opponents’ strengths and weaknesses most of the time. So, we prepare accordingly.
The training camps are well organized days before the tournament and in those camps, we are left with no choice except to listen to the coach and the staff. This time too, the same will happen, and we are rigorously working on ourselves. Let’s hope for the best!
Yes, of course, and I am extremely proud of this. The credit should go to the Haryana government and our sports minister and, needless to say, the sports policies of the state which encourage not only the sportsperson but also his entire family by providing them with all that they need. I mean, the player just has to concentrate on the sport he or she plays. The rest is taken care of by the government. Parents are assured that if their children pursue sports as a career and excel at it, they will not be disappointed.