The Indian hockey teams have created Olympic history this year. India is the only country to have both teams in the semi-finals this year, a source of pride for Indians all over the world this week. While the Indian men’s team is out of the running for gold now, the women are all set to make a mark with their semi-final match against Argentina on August 5, 2021. This is the first Indian women’s hockey team to come this far in the Olympics. And to have beaten three-time Olympic champions, Australia, to reach this level was something many of us thought was impossible. For us, these women are already winners!

Before the crucial match tomorrow, here’s everything you should know about the team.

Rani Rampal (Captain)

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Her captaincy has been the most successful in recent times for India. The daughter of a domestic worker and a cart puller, Rani Rampal’s inspiring journey in hockey began with a broken stick. At the age of 14, she made her debut, and now, at 26, she is leading the young team into the most important match they’ve ever played. Rampal also played a significant role in the team winning a Junior World Cup medal earlier.

Savita Punia (Vice-Captain)

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After the incredible win over Australia, Savita Punia was rightly called The Wall. The goalkeeper did not let Australia score a single goal with her beautiful defence. One of the older members of the team, Savita Punia is a force to reckon with. She credits her grandfather for her successes and claims that she has reached this stage in hockey only because of his encouragement. Punia has had a stellar record in the past few years. At the 2017 Asia Cup, she won the title of Best Goalkeeper, and the team also won a silver medal at the 2018 Asian Games.

Gurjit Kaur

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The star of India’s quarter-final against Australia, Gurjit Kaur has scored one goal in Tokyo so far. And that goal clinched India’s spot at the semi-final. That drag-flick will go down in history as one of the most iconic moments in Indian sports. Scoring winning goals is not new for Gurjit Kaur. When India won the 2017 Asia Cup, she scored eight goals. She was also the top scorer at the 2019 FIH Women’s Series final.

Rajani Etimarpu

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Hailing from a small village in Anantapur, Andhra Pradesh, Rajani Etimarpu went from being a stand-in goalie at school to competing at the national level through sheer determination. The daughter of a carpenter, she started playing with a basic kit. Later, with help from coaches and senior members of the team, Etimarpu could finally play with a complete goalkeeper’s kit. For her, the Olympic qualifiers of 2015 were one of the biggest highs of her career. The team’s performance helped them grab a spot at the 2016 Rio Olympics, and their experience there has helped them shine at the 2020 Olympics.

Deep Grace Ekka

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Deep Grace Ekka comes from the hockey district of India, Sundergarh in Odisha, and from a family that has deep roots in the sport. Even though she was interested in other sports as well, Ekka did not think twice when she had to choose her profession. While her family was supportive of her choice of playing hockey, Ekka had to face criticism from the other villagers who would look down on her for playing a “man’s sport” and not doing any household chores. But this did not stop her. She was part of the medal-winning teams at the 2013 Junior World Cup and the 2014 Asian Games.

Reena Khokhar

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Reena Khokhar, from Chandigarh, became a hockey player mostly because of her friends who forced her to try out. It was only after she played a few games that she became interested in hockey and took it up seriously. Khokhar was part of the team that won the silver medal at the 2018 Asian Games and also played in the FIH Women’s World Cup in the same year. After suffering an eye injury in 2019, Khokhar almost lost all her confidence. But Coach Sjoerd Marijne supported her and helped her in making a comeback to the national team.

Sushila Chanu Pukhrambam

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If Rani Rampal is an icon for women’s hockey in India, Sushila Chanu Pukhrambam is in the same league. One of the senior members of the team, the 29-year-old midfielder from Imphal captained the team at the 2016 Rio Olympics which was the women’s team’s first Olympic appearance in 36 years. In the quarter-finals against Australia, she played a key role in blocking the Australians from scoring a single goal. Sushila Chanu started playing hockey at the age of 11 and one of her most memorable wins came in 2013 at the Junior World Cup in Germany.

Salima Tete

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Nineteen-year-old Samila Tete didn’t have an easy life from the beginning. Born in a Naxal stronghold in Jharkhand, Tete worked on her family’s farm and bought a hockey stick only when she had earned the money for it. Initially, she played on a ground that was riddled with stones and had only temporary goalposts. Tete comes from a small village in Simdega district where resources are few and far between and bad weather can disrupt life for days. Even now, her family had to borrow a generator set to watch her match against Australia after power lines tripped.

Nisha Warsi

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Nisha Warsi’s journey in hockey is a lesson in determination and overcoming obstacles that could have ended the careers of the best players in the sport. The 26-year-old from Sonipat started playing hockey because she would not have needed much equipment for the game. Her father, a tailor, supported her dreams completely, but in 2015, he suffered a paralytic attack and could not work anymore. Her mother then started working, and it took Warsi another three years to enter the Indian team.

Nikki Pradhan

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Nikki Pradhan is the first woman from Jharkhand to have represented India twice at the Olympics. In 2016, she became the first Olympian from her state. Like Salima Tete, 27-year-old Pradhan also comes from an area that is known to be a Naxal stronghold. With almost no source of income, Pradhan grew up in a world of deprivation. Her elder sister, also a hockey player, had to work as a labourer to buy a hockey stick. Pradhan did not get a stick or hockey shoes before she moved to an academy in Ranchi. Now, she is part of a team that has already made history for India.

Monika Malik

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Monika Malik’s father was a keen wrestler but, according to her, he supported his daughter’s hockey dreams instead of pushing her towards the sport of his choice. Born in Sonipat, Malik started training in hockey at a government school in Chandigarh. But she never compromised on her studies and holds a business administration degree from Kurukshetra University. Now, Malik is considered the backbone of the Indian team, having been a part of the team’s victories at the 2014 Asian Games, 2018 Asia Cup, and 2018 Asian Games.

Neha Goyal

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Neha Goyal grew up in an impoverished household in Sonipat with an alcoholic father and a mother who had to support the whole family. In an interview with Olympics.com, she said that the only reason she went to a hockey academy was that they would give her clothes and shoes. “I didn’t have shoes at the time and the school I was studying in used to provide us with uniforms,” Goyal said. Along with her sisters, she even had to help her mother with her work stringing wires on cycles. Soon, former India captain Pritam Siwach started helping her with training and all the essentials that Goyal needed to focus on hockey. Even though she missed the Rio Olympics in 2016, unlike many of her current teammates, Neha Goyal is now hoping to show her prowess at the semi-final against Argentina.

Navneet Kaur

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Being one of the players who were a part of the 2016 Rio Olympics as well, Navneet Kaur comes with a whole lot of experience to the semi-final. Hailing from Shahbad, Haryana, Navneet Kaur has been a hockey star since she was in the junior team. In 2013, she was part of the medal-winning team at the Junior World Cup. And in the Tokyo Olympics, Navneet Kaur scored the crucial goal in India’s match against Ireland which secured the quarter-final spot for the team.

Vandana Katariya

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Vandana Katariya is the first Indian woman to score a hat-trick in hockey at the Olympics. When India took on South Africa in Pool A in the Tokyo Olympics, Katariya scored three out of the four goals that took India to victory. The 29-year-old from Uttar Pradesh has been part of the Indian team since her debut in 2007. Growing up in orthodox Roshanabad near Haridwar, Katariya and her family had to bear criticism from neighbours who told her parents that she shouldn’t leave the house to play since she’s a girl. Not paying any heed to the sexism, the young hockey player enrolled in the Government Sports Hostel (Lucknow) in 2006. In 2013, Katariya was the highest scorer in the Junior World Cup with five goals to her name in the tournament.

Lalremsiami

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A young player who has had an incredible start to her career, Lalremsiami, fondly called Siami, was the first Indian woman to win the FIH Rising Star award. When she joined the team, Lalremsiami did not understand Hindi or English. But former coach Harendra Singh insisted that she share a room with Rani Rampal, and her career took off from there. “She used to teach me Hindi and help me with my game as well,” Lalremsiami told Scroll in an interview. “Whenever I had any doubts about my game, I’d go and ask her. She is my favourite player and it’s just amazing to be playing alongside her for India.” The 21-year-old from Mizoram is now considered a tactical goal scorer who is difficult to keep up with for defenders and goalkeepers alike.

Navjot Kaur

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Navjot Kaur, the 26-year-old midfielder from Haryana, has made it a point to be featured in every scoresheet. Navjot Kaur was only eight years old when her father pushed her towards hockey. After training at the Sanjay Gandhi National Park School, she has been on an upward trajectory. A constant for the Indian team since 2012, Navjot Kaur was part of the medal-winning teams at the 2014 and 2018 Asian Games. The second-time Olympian is known for her composure and strength against the opposition which is only getting better with time.

Sharmila Devi

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Sharmila Devi started pursuing hockey seriously because of her grandfather who was a national level player. As a child, she was intrigued by hockey, volleyball, and football, but eventually, she chose hockey as her profession. The 19-year-old has scored two international goals so far, including one against the USA which helped the Indian team qualify for the 2020 Olympics.

Udita Duhan

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Udita Duhan did not start her journey in sports with hockey. In fact, she was more interested in handball earlier, like her father. But, as luck would have it, the handball coach at her school stopped coming for practice. Duhan then asked her mother if she could play hockey instead. Her speed and agility in the sport caught everyone’s attention and there was no looking back for Duhan. Under her captaincy, the Indian junior team won a bronze at the 2016 Asia Cup. This stunning performance paved her way to the senior team, and since 2017, Duhan has been a regular in the national team.

Here’s wishing the ladies in blue all the luck in the world!

Related: Indian Women At Tokyo Olympics: The Highest Female Participation Ever From India