Jharkhand is seen covering its image of a maoist hotbed to highlighting its spirit in the field of sports. This state is also aspiring to be a hockey nest. During the recently concluded Tokyo Olympics 2020, for the first time, the Indian women’s hockey team scripted history by qualifying for the Olympic Games semifinals. They defeated three-time champions Australia by a solitary goal.

A day after the Indian men’s team entered the Olympic semifinals following a 49-year gap, the world number 9 women’s side also scripted history with a stout-hearted performance.

Though the medal to finish in the third place remained elusive, the team earned tremendous respect with a momentous fourth-place sign-off at the Games.

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Among other brilliant players on the field were Salima Tete and Nikki Pradhan. This was the first time when Jharkhand had two players in the international team.

Speaking to Indiatimes, Nikki Pradhan, the first female Hockey player from Jharkhand who represented India in the Olympics said, “Jharkhand has a rich history of producing stellar hockey players, both men and women. But the state is now more recognised than ever for its contribution to field hockey. In the past, Jharkhand has produced players like Asunta Lakra and Bimal Lakra, and with our performance at the Tokyo Olympics, the whole country is talking about women’s hockey, which had mostly remained neglected in the past.”

Nikki (27), who hails from Hesal village of Khunti district, said that when she had started playing hockey, there were zero facilities. 

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Salima Tete (19) hails from a small hamlet in Jharkhand’s Simdega district, remembers her first steps towards hockey. 

Salima recalled her early days and said that she and her friends played on a dusty ground speckled with stones. They would remove the stones, and try to make the ground as smooth as possible and mark temporary goalposts. 

“We used wooden sticks because we didn’t have hockey blades,” Salima said.

Jharkhand’s journey to recognition in sports:

This journey started decades ago. The first ever Indian hockey team at the Olympics, at the 1928 Amsterdam Games, was captained by Jaipal Singh Munda, born in present-day Jharkhand.

Since then, Jharkhand, which earned statehood in 2000, has produced a number of international players, including Sylvanus Dung Dung, Michael Kindo, Sumrai Tete, and siblings Bimal and Asunta Lakra.

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Both Salima and Nikki believe that Jharkhand has the same potential to shine like Odisha, the state that single-handedly supported hockey.

“Even the regional or a district level hockey game in the state draws huge crowds. The small stadiums are usually running over their capacity. If a small game can pull such massive crowds, imagine what proper stadiums and national events could bring to the state,” Nikki said.

Fresh momentum to sports in Jharkhand:

After Pradhan and Tete’s exceptional performance, the Jharkhand government announced a slew of initiatives to promote hockey and other sports.

To promote sports and players, the government has embarked on a multi-pronged strategy that includes providing them with jobs and training. The Jharkhand government also said that the government has given jobs to 40 national and international players.

The government will also set up Residential Sports Centre where free training will be imparted to hockey, football, athletics, archery, badminton and volleyball players.