The Indian Women’s Hockey team wants a 'Chak De! India' sequel…with a few changes

Tweak India spoke to four of the players after their Nations Cup win

You would think that after lifting the Women’s FIH Hockey Nations Cup in New Zealand this June, the Indian women’s hockey team would be due a much-needed break. They’d come off an unbeaten streak in the competition after all, with a closing 2-0 victory over the host team New Zealand. Instead, they moved straight into training for the FIH World Cup that will take place in August, the next rung on the ladder to qualifying for the 2028 Olympics, USA. They placed fourth overall at the 2020 summer Olympics in Japan, and hope to surpass that record.

I meet four of these towering champions over Zoom at the end of their training day in Bengaluru. They’re in their individual dorms, still in their jerseys, looking exhausted but very upbeat.

Forward player Deepika Sehrawat, 22, who was the top-scorer in the Nations Cup with six goals to her name, is shy and quiet in real life. Her teammates encourage her when it comes to answering questions. Team captain Salima Tete, 24, laughs along as her teammates poke fun at her from time to time.

With them are forward players, Navneet Kaur, 30, who scored the first goal in the Nations Cup’s final game. And Lalremsiami Hmarzote, 26, who won Player Of The Year at the tournament.

I’m aware of their stellar record, but before me now are also just a group of young women, being sweet and silly with one another, really hanging out, as only teammates who’ve been through a lot together can.

Their camaraderie is so charming, I feel a little like a fifth wheel. Luckily, by the end of our short conversation—about the game, the teamwork, the events that brought them this far, and of course Chak De India—I ended up getting an invite to play hockey with them some day.

Teamwork makes the dream work for the Indian women’s hockey team

Tweak: How did it feel when you won against New Zealand?

Salima Tete: It was very important for us to just reach the Nations Cup, and winning it felt even better. There’s this happiness that comes from within—we feel so proud of ourselves that we want to continue getting even better. I’m proud of everything our entire team has done, and we’re glad we could achieve so much for our country. We’re at camp right now and it’s exciting just being here, training for the World Cup.

T: Navneet, you scored the first goal in the fourth minute itself. How did that feel?

Navneet Kaur: It felt amazing. Scoring a goal that early on puts us in a better rhythm, and gives us confidence that we can score more going forward. But I do feel like it was the team’s goal. I took the shot but it would not have been possible without the team ensuring the ball got to me so I could play my role well.

T: Does the team have a pre-match ritual?

Lalremsiami Hmarzote: We love to put on music, and we dance. We also like to play football before a match [laughs]. However, that’s only when we’re off the pitch. Once we’re on the pitch, we enter a full-focus mode.

T: Salima, you became captain three years ago. Did you have a list of goals you wanted the team to achieve?

ST: Aisa kuch nahi tha [Nothing like that]. As a captain, my only aim is to support my team members as much as I can, for any game. If someone new joins I want to make them feel encouraged too. You can’t ensure everyone will be able to give their 100% in every match—someone could be having a bad day—but my goal is to support everyone in my capacity.

T: What’s something Salima says to motivate all of you?

[looking at each other, laughing, they call Deepika ‘Gippi’, urging her to answer this one]

Deepika Sehrawat: Before any match she says, “Girls, humein sirf apne aap pe focus karna hai [we just have to focus on our game].”

T: Deepika, you used to be a wrestler. How did hockey happen?

DS: There used to be a hockey field I crossed to get to the wrestling ground and it had green grass. I didn’t know what hockey was, but I was intrigued by the danda they used to play it with. I wanted to play a sport with a stick too and decided to take that up. My family tried to talk me out of it [Sehrawat comes from a family of wrestlers], but I was like, no, I will only play hockey.

Wrestling requires more power and strength—hockey does too, but not in the same way. Plus, you can take shots in hockey just like cricket. So I thought it’d be nice if I could learn to take cool shots too. [laughs]

T: Lalremsiami, you lost your father in 2019, while the team was playing the 2020 summer Olympics qualifiers. That must have been really hard for you.

LH: It was a very difficult time for me. Most days, I did not even know if I was running or walking. I’d play on the pitch, but in my free time I would just cry.

I remember we were playing the final match of the 2019 FIH Women’s Series in Hiroshima, and I didn’t play too well in the beginning. At half time, my then captain, Rani Rampal was like, “Girls, Siami has stayed back during this difficult time. We have to win this game for her and for us.” And that game really felt like the team was doing it for me. I realised I wasn’t alone, that I had this entire team with me.

T: How do you react when something funny happens during the game?

DS: Sometimes after you score a goal, everyone runs to you to celebrate. But in the rush we forget we’re all holding hockey sticks [laughs] so it can sometimes hit you. We don’t laugh or point it out on the field but yes it’s quite funny.

T: When not training, what indulgences do you allow yourselves? Any treats?

DS: Churma. Whenever I go home I have it.

NK: Ghar ke paranthe. Everything I eat during tournaments is just bland! So whenever I go home I just want to eat everything properly.

ST: Whenever I go back home, I ask mummy to just make me loads of rice. We’re from Jharkhand, we love our rice.

T: You’ve seen Chak De India. Is your coach [former Dutch field hockey player Sjoerd Marijne] anything like Kabir Khan?

NK: Our coach ji is exactly like Kabir Khan. He’s funny, but when he gets mad at us, he really scolds us too. But he knows when to have fun too and he’s smart.

T: I need the insiders’ view: how accurate was the film?

NK: There’s this thing [sports movies] do for the plot where they show players internally discussing, “Why is she being picked to play?” or questioning the coach. Or even drama between seniors and juniors. We don’t do that. There’s no such tension between us in reality.

DS: I think they should make a sequel. But only if we get to star in it. [laughs]