India women's national field hockey team

India
Nickname(s)	"Nabhvarna";
Association	Hockey India
Confederation	ASHF (Asia)
Head Coach	Janneke Schopman
Assistant coach(es)	Ankitha BS
Manager	Tushar Khandekar
Captain	Rani Rampal
	Home
	Away
FIH ranking
Current	9 (23 December 2021)
Highest	7 (August 2021)
First international
	Scotland 6–1 India; (Folkestone, England; 30 September 1953)
Biggest win
	India 24–0 ; (Guwahati, India; 7 February 2016)
Olympic Games
Appearances	3 (first in 1980)
Best result	4th (1980, 2020)
World Cup
Appearances	7 (first in 1974)
Best result	4th (1974)
Asian Games
Appearances	10 (first in 1982)
Best result	1st (1982)
Asia Cup
Appearances	9 (first in 1989)
Best result	1st (2004, 2017)
Medal record
Asian Games
Asia Cup
Asian Champions Trophy
Commonwealth Games

The Indian women's national field hockey team (nicknamed the Nabhvarna) represents India in international field hockey, and is governed by Hockey India. Nabhvarna are currently ranked 7th in the FIH World Rankings, and are ranked as the best team in Asia. They have won the gold medals at the 2002 Commonwealth Games and 1982 Asian Games. They have also won the Women's Asia Cup twice, i.e. in 2004 and 2017. They also won the Asian Champions Trophy in 2016. India at the 2020 Summer Olympics,^[4] for the first time ever, reached the semi-final in the Women's Hockey Olympic event but failed to bag any medal after they lost to Argentina^[5] in the semifinal and then to Great Britain^[6] in Bronze medal match.

Performance history[]

The team's breakthrough performance came at the Women's Hockey World Cup at Mandelieu in 1974, where it finished in 4th place. Their best performance in the Olympic Games was at 1980 Moscow Summer Olympics (where they came in 4th), when a women's event was held for the first time in Olympic history. The team also won the Gold medal at the inaugural 1982 Asian Games held in New Delhi, defeating Korea in the finals. Captain Suraj Lata Devi led the team to the Gold for three consecutive years at different events- during the 2002 Commonwealth Games,^[7] the 2003 Afro-Asian Games, and the 2004 Women's Hockey Asia Cup. Team members were referred to as the "assi (Jasjeet) jaisi koi nahi" or the "Golden Girls of Hockey," after the 2004 win.^[8] The team earned a 3rd-place finish at the 2013 Women's Hockey Asia Cup at Kuala Lumpur defeating China in a shootout.^[9] At the 2014 Commonwealth Games, it finished in 5th place but at 2014 Asian Games, Incheon stunned Japan 2-1 in a tight match to clinch their third bronze medal at the Asian Games.^[10] During the summer of 2015, the team hosted the Round 2 of the 2014–15 Women's FIH Hockey World League and finished on top to qualify for the next stage. At the World League Semifinals held in Antwerp the team finished in the fifth place beating higher ranked Japan in classification match.^[11] The Indian woman's national field hockey team qualified for the 2016 Summer Olympics^[12]^[13] for the first time since the 1980 Summer Olympics.^[12]^[14] They were eliminated in the group stage, however, where they placed 6th.

2002 Commonwealth Games and Chak De! India (2007)[]

The 2002 Commonwealth Games Squad, led by Captain Suraj Lata Devi, competed in the 2002 Commonwealth Games. The team entered the finals after defeating the New Zealand women's national field hockey team.^[15] and placed first, winning the Gold after they beat the English women's hockey team.^[7]^[16]^[17]

This event served as the inspiration for the 2007 Bollywood film about women's field hockey, Chak De! India starring Shah Rukh Khan (after screenwriter Jaideep Sahni read a short article about it).^[18] Sahni began to model the character of Kabir Khan on hockey coach Maharaj Krishan Kaushik.^[19] After hearing the storyline, Kaushik suggested that Sahni meet hockey player Mir Ranjan Negi (who faced accusations of throwing the match against Pakistan during the 1982 Asian Games).^[20]^[21]^[22] Sahni has stated that he was unaware of Negi's tribulations while writing the script and that the resemblance with Negi's life was entirely coincidental.^[23] Negi affirmed this point stating that he didn't "want to hog the limelight. This movie is not a documentary of Mir Ranjan Negi's life. It is in fact the story of a team that becomes a winning lot from a bunch of hopeless girls".^[24] In response to the fact that the media equated Kabir Khan with Negi, Sahni said that "Our script was written a year and a half back. It is very unfortunate that something, which is about women athletes, has just started becoming about Negi."^[19]

Medal table[]

Tournament	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
Commonwealth Games	1	1	0	2
Asian Games	1	2	3	6
Hockey Asia Cup	2	2	3	7
Asian Champions Trophy	1	2	1	4
Hockey Champions Challenge	0	0	1	1
Afro-Asian Games	1	0	0	1
FIH Hockey Series	1	0	0	1
South Asian Games	1	0	0	1
Total	8	7	8	23

Tournament record[]

Summer Olympics[]

No	Year	Host	Position
1	1980	Moscow, USSR	4th
2	2016	Rio de Janeiro, Brazil	12th
3	2020	Tokyo, Japan	4th

World Cup[]

No	Year	Host	Position
1	1974	Mandelieu, France	4th
2	1978	Madrid, Spain	7th
3	1983	Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia	11th
4	1998	Utrecht, Netherlands	12th
5	2006	Madrid, Spain	11th
6	2010	Rosario, Argentina	9th
7	2018	London, England	8th
8	2022	Amstelveen, Netherlands Valencia, Spain	Qualified

World League[]

No	Year	Final Host	Position
1	2012–13	San Miguel de Tucumán, Argentina	14th
2	2014–15	Rosario, Argentina	10th
3	2016–17	Auckland, New Zealand	16th

Commonwealth Games[]

No	Year	Host	Position
1	1998	Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia	4th
4	2002	Manchester, England
2	2006	Melbourne, Australia
3	2010	New Delhi, India	5th
4	2014	Glasgow, Scotland	5th
5	2018	Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia	4th

Asian Games[]

No	Year	Host	Position
1	1982	New Delhi, India
2	1986	Seoul, South Korea
3	1990	Beijing, China	4th
4	1994	Hiroshima, Japan	4th
5	1998	Bangkok, Thailand
6	2002	Busan, South Korea	4th
7	2006	Doha, Qatar
8	2010	Guangzhou, China	4th
9	2014	Incheon, South Korea
10	2018	Jakarta, Indonesia

Asia Cup[]

No	Year	Host	Position
1	1989	Hong Kong	4th
2	1993	Hiroshima, Japan
3	1999	New Delhi, India
4	2004	New Delhi, India
5	2007	Hong Kong	4th
6	2009	Bangkok, Thailand
7	2013	Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
8	2017	Kakamigahara, Gifu, Japan
9	2022	Muscat, Oman

Champions Challenge[]

No	Year	Host	Position
1	2002	Johannesburg, South Africa
2	2011	Dublin, Ireland	7th
3	2012	Dublin, Ireland	7th
4	2014	Glasgow, Scotland	8th

Asian Champions Trophy[]

No	Year	Host	Position
1	2010	Busan, South Korea
2	2011	Ordos, China	4th
3	2013	Kakamigahara, Japan
4	2016	Singapore
5	2018	Donghae City, South Korea
6	2021	Donghae City, South Korea	Withdrew

Hockey Series[]

No	Year	Host	Position
1	2018-19	Hiroshima, Japan

Afro-Asian Games[]

No	Year	Host	Position
1	2003	Hyderabad, India

South Asian Games[]

No	Year	Host	Position
1	2016	Guwahati, India

Results and fixtures[]

2022[]

21 January 2022 2022 Asia Cup	India	9–0	Malaysia	Muscat, Oman
20:00	Vandana 8', 34' Ekka 10' Sushila 15', 27' Lalremsiami 38' Monika 40' Sharmila 46', 59'	Report		Stadium: Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex

23 January 2022 2022 Asia Cup	Japan	2–0	India	Muscat, Oman
19:00	Nagai 2' 42'	Report		Stadium: Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex

24 January 2022 2022 Asia Cup	India	9–1	Singapore	Muscat, Oman
19:00	Monika 6', 17' Vandana 8' G. Kaur 8', 37', 48' 10' 43', 58'	Report	43'	Stadium: Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex

26 January 2022 2022 Asia Cup	South Korea	3–2	India	Muscat, Oman
16:30	Cheon 31' 45' Cho 47'	Report	Neha 28' Lalremsiami 54'	Stadium: Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex

28 January 2022 2022 Asia Cup	India	2–0	China	Muscat, Oman
16:30	Sharmila 13' Gurjit 19'	Report		Stadium: Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex

31 January 2022 2021–22 FIH Pro League	China	1–7	India	Muscat, Oman
15:00	43'	Report	Navneet 5' Neha 12' Vandana 40' Sushila 47', 52' Sharmila 48' Gurjit 50'	Stadium: Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex

1 February 2022 2021–22 FIH Pro League	China	1–2	India	Muscat, Oman
15:00	Wang 39'	Report	Gurjit 3', 49'	Stadium: Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex

26 February 2022 2021–22 FIH Pro League	India	v	Spain	Bhubaneswar, India
17:00		Report		Stadium: Kalinga Stadium

27 February 2022 2021–22 FIH Pro League	India	v	Spain	Bhubaneswar, India
17:00		Report		Stadium: Kalinga Stadium

Current squad[]

2021–22 FIH Pro League[]

Team roster

The squad was announced on 12 January 2022.^[25]

Caps updated as of 1 February 2022, after the match against China.

Head coach: Janneke Schopman

No.	Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club
11	GK	Savita Punia (Captain)	(1990-07-11) 11 July 1990 (age 31)	217	0	Hockey Haryana
13	GK	Rajani Etimarpu	(1990-09-06) 6 September 1990 (age 31)	96	0	Railway Sports Promotion Board
	GK		(2000-12-03) 3 December 2000 (age 21)	0	0	Madhya Pradesh Hockey Academy

2	DF	Gurjit Kaur	(1995-10-25) 25 October 1995 (age 26)	103	76	Railway Sports Promotion Board
3	DF	Deep Grace Ekka (Vice–Captain)	(1994-06-03) 3 June 1994 (age 27)	218	14	Railway Sports Promotion Board
8	DF	Nikki Pradhan	(1993-12-08) 8 December 1993 (age 28)	115	2	Railway Sports Promotion Board
18	DF	Udita Duhan	(1998-01-14) 14 January 1998 (age 24)	47	4	DoSYA, Haryana
50	DF		(2000-04-15) 15 April 2000 (age 21)	7	0	Madhya Pradesh

1	MF	Navjot Kaur	(1995-03-07) 7 March 1995 (age 26)	186	18	Railway Sports Promotion Board
4	MF	Monika Malik	(1993-11-05) 5 November 1993 (age 28)	166	12	Central Railways
15	MF	Nisha Warsi	(1995-07-09) 9 July 1995 (age 26)	25	0	Railway Sports Promotion Board
19	MF	Namita Toppo	(1995-06-04) 4 June 1995 (age 26)	166	5	Odisha Mining Corporation
27	MF	Sushila Chanu	(1992-02-25) 25 February 1992 (age 29)	197	6	Railway Sports Promotion Board
30	MF	Salima Tete	(2001-12-27) 27 December 2001 (age 20)	44	0	Hockey Jharkhand
32	MF	Neha Goyal	(1995-11-15) 15 November 1995 (age 26)	91	14	Railway Sports Promotion Board

7	FW	Sharmila Devi	(2001-10-10) 10 October 2001 (age 20)	24	7	Hockey Himachal
16	FW	Vandana Katariya	(1992-04-15) 15 April 1992 (age 29)	256	73	Railway Sports Promotion Board
20	FW	Lalremsiami	(2000-03-30) 30 March 2000 (age 21)	79	25	Railway Sports Promotion Board
24	FW		(1999-11-12) 12 November 1999 (age 22)	20	4	Railway Sports Promotion Board
25	FW	Navneet Kaur	(1996-01-26) 26 January 1996 (age 26)	95	29	Railway Sports Promotion Board
	FW		(2001-12-24) 24 December 2001 (age 20)	0	0	Railway Sports Promotion Board
	FW		(1998-11-19) 19 November 1998 (age 23)	1	1	Hockey Punjab

Recent call-ups[]

These players were called-up in the last 12 months.

Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club	Latest call-up
DF		(1997-12-16) 16 December 1997 (age 24)	13	0	Odisha Police	NT Camp, 2022
DF		(2001-11-02) 2 November 2001 (age 20)	0	0	Hockey Maharashtra	NT Camp, 2022

MF		(1997-03-20) 20 March 1997 (age 24)	38	3	Income Tax	NT Camp, 2022
MF	Reena Khokhar	(1993-04-10) 10 April 1993 (age 28)	45	1	Railway Sports Promotion Board	2020 Summer Olympics

FW		(1999-04-20) 20 April 1999 (age 22)	6	1	Railway Sports Promotion Board	2022 Asia Cup
FW	Rani Rampal (Captain)	(1994-12-04) 4 December 1994 (age 27)	249	117	Hockey Haryana	2020 Summer Olympics
FW		(2000-06-12) 12 June 2000 (age 21)	2	0	Hockey Haryana	2022 Asia Cup

Awards[]

Summer Olympics

During the 2008 Women's Field Hockey Olympic Qualifier, the team ranked fourth in the "Qualifying Two" event. Rani Devi received the Most Promising Young Player of the Tournament award. (Squad)

Hockey World Cup

During the 2001 Women's Hockey World Cup Qualifier, the team ranked 7th. Sanggai Chanu received the Young Player of the Tournament award. (Squad)

Hockey Champions Challenge

During the 2002 Hockey Champions Challenge, Jyoti Sunita Kullu received the Topscorer award for five goals. (Squad)

Dhyan Chand Award

Mary D'Souza Sequeira (1953–1963)

Arjuna Awards

The following is a list of recipients for the Arjuna award in hockey recipients (by year):

Helen Mary, 2004
Suraj Lata Devi (former captain), 2003
Mamta Kharab, 2002
Madhu Yadav, 2000
Tingonleima Chanu, 2000
S. Omana Kumari, 1998
Pritam Rani Siwach (former captain), 1998
Prem Maya Sonir, 1985
Rajbir Kaur, 1984
Varsha Soni, 1981
Eliza Nelson, 1980–1981
Lorraine Fernandes, 1976–1977
A. Kaur, 1975–1976
Dr. Otilia Mascarenhas, 1973–1974
Sunita Puri, 1966
Elvira Britto, 1965
Yvonne Smith, 1962
Anne Lumsden, 1961

References[]

^ "FIH Men's and Women's World Ranking". FIH. 23 December 2021. Retrieved 23 December 2021.
^ "India women take on Scotland in hockey". 3 October 2010. Retrieved 16 February 2022.
^ "Before 26-0: Indian hockey team's biggest wins before Hong Kong rout". 22 August 2018. Retrieved 16 February 2022.
^ "Tokyo Olympics 2021 Live: India vs Australia women's hockey quarterfinal underway". The Times of India. Retrieved 2 August 2021.
^ Livemint (4 August 2021). "Tokyo Olympics: India women lose hockey semi-final 1-2 to Argentina". mint. Retrieved 6 August 2021.
^ Aug 2021, Times Now | 06; Ist, 09:18 Am. "Tokyo Olympics 2020: Indian women's hockey team lose 3-4 to Great Britain in Bronze-medal match". The Economic Times. Retrieved 6 August 2021.
^ ^a ^b "2002 Manchester: The XVII Commonwealth Games". 2002 Manchester: The XVII Commonwealth Games. 2002. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016.
^ Pandey, Vineeta (15 February 2004). "Indian Sportswomen: Still the Second Sex". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 26 February 2012. Retrieved 12 April 2008.
^ "India clinches bronze in Asia Cup hockey". The Hindu. 27 September 2013. Archived from the original on 13 February 2014. Retrieved 29 August 2015.
^ PTI (1 October 2014). "Indian women's hockey team wins Asiad bronze". Times of India. Archived from the original on 22 April 2016. Retrieved 29 August 2015.
^ PTI (6 July 2015). "On the verge of Olympic qualification, Indian women's hockey team arrive to grand welcome". Firstpost. Archived from the original on 22 August 2015. Retrieved 29 August 2015.
^ ^a ^b "Chak De Moment For India". India Today. 29 August 2015. Archived from the original on 18 February 2016. Retrieved 29 August 2015.
^ Bhagvatula, Shrikant (29 August 2015). "Chak De: Indian women's hockey team qualifies for Rio Olympics". Hindustan Times. Archived from the original on 29 August 2015. Retrieved 29 August 2015.
^ Bose, Adrija (29 August 2015). "India Women's Hockey Team Bags Historic 2016 Rio Olympic Berth After 36 Years". Huffington Post India. Archived from the original on 30 August 2015. Retrieved 29 August 2015.
^ "Indian women stun Kiwis". BBC. 1 August 2002. Archived from the original on 27 January 2011. Retrieved 12 April 2008.
^ "India deny England gold". BBC. 3 August 2002. Archived from the original on 13 October 2007. Retrieved 12 April 2008.
^ "Indian eves win Commonwealth hockey gold". Rediff.com. 3 August 2002. Archived from the original on 17 January 2010. Retrieved 12 April 2008.
^ Zanane, Anant; Das, Suprita (13 March 2008). "Women's hockey hopes to deliver". Sports. NDTV. Archived from the original on 30 January 2013. Retrieved 7 April 2008.
^ ^a ^b "Chak De: The real Kabir Khan?". Sports. NDTV. 31 October 2007. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 23 August 2015.
^ "Back to the goal post". The Hindu. 10 August 2007. Archived from the original on 19 February 2016. Retrieved 23 April 2008.
^ Shrikant, B (26 June 2007). "More than reel life; the story of truth, lies & a man called Mir". Hindustan Times. Archived from the original on 17 February 2015. Retrieved 23 April 2008.
^ "They said I'd taken one lakh per goal ... people used to introduce me as Mr Negi of those seven goals". Indian Express. 16 September 2007. Archived from the original on 19 February 2016. Retrieved 23 April 2008.
^ Kumar, Anuj (7 September 2007). "In the company of ideas". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 19 February 2016. Retrieved 23 April 2008.
^ Roy, Abhishek (18 August 2007). "'Chak De! is not a documentary of my life'". Hindustan Times/IANS. Retrieved 21 August 2015.
^ "Hockey India name 22-member Indian Women's Hockey Team for FIH Pro League matches against Spain". Hockey India. Retrieved 21 February 2022.

External links[]

[FIH_Women's_World_Rankings-1] "FIH Men's and Women's World Ranking". FIH. 23 December 2021. Retrieved 23 December 2021.

[2] "India women take on Scotland in hockey". 3 October 2010. Retrieved 16 February 2022.

[3] "Before 26-0: Indian hockey team's biggest wins before Hong Kong rout". 22 August 2018. Retrieved 16 February 2022.

[4] "Tokyo Olympics 2021 Live: India vs Australia women's hockey quarterfinal underway". The Times of India. Retrieved 2 August 2021.

[5] Livemint (4 August 2021). "Tokyo Olympics: India women lose hockey semi-final 1-2 to Argentina". mint. Retrieved 6 August 2021.

[6] Aug 2021, Times Now | 06; Ist, 09:18 Am. "Tokyo Olympics 2020: Indian women's hockey team lose 3-4 to Great Britain in Bronze-medal match". The Economic Times. Retrieved 6 August 2021.

[2002win-7] "2002 Manchester: The XVII Commonwealth Games". 2002 Manchester: The XVII Commonwealth Games. 2002. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016.

[golden-8] Pandey, Vineeta (15 February 2004). "Indian Sportswomen: Still the Second Sex". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 26 February 2012. Retrieved 12 April 2008.

[13bronze-9] "India clinches bronze in Asia Cup hockey". The Hindu. 27 September 2013. Archived from the original on 13 February 2014. Retrieved 29 August 2015.

[14bronze-10] PTI (1 October 2014). "Indian women's hockey team wins Asiad bronze". Times of India. Archived from the original on 22 April 2016. Retrieved 29 August 2015.

[verge-11] PTI (6 July 2015). "On the verge of Olympic qualification, Indian women's hockey team arrive to grand welcome". Firstpost. Archived from the original on 22 August 2015. Retrieved 29 August 2015.

[chakdemoment-12] "Chak De Moment For India". India Today. 29 August 2015. Archived from the original on 18 February 2016. Retrieved 29 August 2015.

[chakdeolymp-13] Bhagvatula, Shrikant (29 August 2015). "Chak De: Indian women's hockey team qualifies for Rio Olympics". Hindustan Times. Archived from the original on 29 August 2015. Retrieved 29 August 2015.

[thirtysix-14] Bose, Adrija (29 August 2015). "India Women's Hockey Team Bags Historic 2016 Rio Olympic Berth After 36 Years". Huffington Post India. Archived from the original on 30 August 2015. Retrieved 29 August 2015.

[15] "Indian women stun Kiwis". BBC. 1 August 2002. Archived from the original on 27 January 2011. Retrieved 12 April 2008.

[16] "India deny England gold". BBC. 3 August 2002. Archived from the original on 13 October 2007. Retrieved 12 April 2008.

[2002rediff-17] "Indian eves win Commonwealth hockey gold". Rediff.com. 3 August 2002. Archived from the original on 17 January 2010. Retrieved 12 April 2008.

[18] Zanane, Anant; Das, Suprita (13 March 2008). "Women's hockey hopes to deliver". Sports. NDTV. Archived from the original on 30 January 2013. Retrieved 7 April 2008.

[ndtvcoach-19] "Chak De: The real Kabir Khan?". Sports. NDTV. 31 October 2007. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 23 August 2015.

[goal-20] "Back to the goal post". The Hindu. 10 August 2007. Archived from the original on 19 February 2016. Retrieved 23 April 2008.

[Hindustan_Times-21] Shrikant, B (26 June 2007). "More than reel life; the story of truth, lies & a man called Mir". Hindustan Times. Archived from the original on 17 February 2015. Retrieved 23 April 2008.

[iemore-22] "They said I'd taken one lakh per goal ... people used to introduce me as Mr Negi of those seven goals". Indian Express. 16 September 2007. Archived from the original on 19 February 2016. Retrieved 23 April 2008.

[company-23] Kumar, Anuj (7 September 2007). "In the company of ideas". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 19 February 2016. Retrieved 23 April 2008.

[24] Roy, Abhishek (18 August 2007). "'Chak De! is not a documentary of my life'". Hindustan Times/IANS. Retrieved 21 August 2015.

[25] "Hockey India name 22-member Indian Women's Hockey Team for FIH Pro League matches against Spain". Hockey India. Retrieved 21 February 2022.

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