Mizoram has experienced a surge of interest in hockey due to ‘Hockey India ka Abhiyan Har Ghar Ho Hockey Ki Pehchan,’ an initiative by Hockey India aimed at engaging districts throughout the country. Lalremsiami, Mizoram’s first Olympian hockey player and a forward on the Indian women’s team, expressed her happiness about the increased interest in the sport among young players in her state.
Lalremsiami said that when she started playing eight or nine years ago, fewer players were taking up hockey, as more focus was on football. However, the state association’s active hosting of camps and local events has led to many more players taking up the sport in the state. Lalremsiami also praised Mizoram’s Junior Women’s Team for winning the Silver Medal at the 1st Hockey India Junior Women East Zone Championship 2023.
In 2016, Lalremsiami was selected for a state government-sponsored program in Thenzawl, hailing from Kolasib – a village located roughly 80 kilometers away from Aizawl, Mizoram. Later, she received training at the National Hockey Academy in New Delhi, where she achieved a significant milestone by getting selected for the U-18 Junior Indian team that participated in the U-18 Junior Asia Cup, held in 2016. The skilled player became the sole representative from Mizoram to compete for India at the Asian Games in 2018, where the national team won a Silver medal. In 2021, she made history by becoming the first player from Mizoram to play in the prestigious 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo, where the Indian Women’s Team finished fourth.
Expressing her joy, Lalremsiami stated that she takes pride in seeing an increasing number of players joining Junior camps from the North East, and believes that this will help them build a stable career in hockey, thereby ensuring financial security for themselves and their families. Currently, the Indian Women’s Team is stationed at SAI, Bengaluru, for the National Coaching Camp, and their primary objective is to clinch Gold and secure a spot for the Olympics for the third consecutive time at the upcoming Asian Games in China.
