Five under-16 Mizoram hockey players selected for National Centres of Excellence

Five female hockey players from Mizoram have been selected for induction into various National Centres of Excellence (NCOEs) by the Sports Authority of India. 

The under-16 girls from the state - Laldinpuii, Vanlarinluii, Lalnulfelli, Loicy Lalthanpuii, Lalfakwami - are among a total of 15 hockey players chosen.

Seen as the building block for women's hockey in India, the girls have been chosen after the conclusion of the 2024-25 season of the ASMITA leagues matches.

The 15 selected for training at the NCOEs include three players from Haryana and two each from Jharkhand and Odisha, besides girls from Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Uttar Pradesh.

Piyush Dubey, hockey's High Performance Director for SAI and Khelo India, said these girls have been chosen keeping future Olympics in mind.

"We have to think of a pathway and these girls have the potential to make it to the senior national team. In the last three-four years, ASMITA has provided the opportunity to see so many players in action and this is a welcome change in our hockey ecosystem. This did not exist before," said Dubey.

He added that many players like Sunelita Toppo, Sujata Kujur and Sakshi Rana have emerged from this hockey league and are now representing India.

Six teams featuring 120 under-16 players took part in the ASMITA sub-junior hockey league's final phase.

A total of 17 matches were played in the Rs 15.5 lakh prize money event. SAI Shakti won the team championship for the third consecutive time beating Madhya Pradesh Hockey Academy 2-1 in the final match at the Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium in New Delhi.

Mizoram's ascendency in women's hockey has been quite startling. For the first time in its history, the tiny North-eastern state, known for its footballers and boxers, won a bronze medal in the senior national women's hockey championship in Panchkula.

Dubey said the Mizoram girls have shown immense improvement in the last five-six years and credit goes to the coaches who are working at the SAI centre in Thenzawl. Lalrothuami, a 2009 junior India player, said young girls are taking interest in hockey and some 40 are training at the SAI centre.

Mizoram have found a unique way to attract youngsters to play hockey. The image and profile of current Indian women's team player and Tokyo Olympian Lalremsiami have been used in advertisements and social media to attract girls to participate in trials.

"The response has been fairly good from the villages. Two of our girls - Lalthantluangi and Lalrinpuii are ASMITA products and are junior Indian team members. They are a great advertisement for us and we are very happy that five Mizoram girls have been selected for training at NCOEs," said Lalrothuami.

"Our players need more competitive exposure and better training ecosystem. In terms of skills, all players are more or less equal but Mizo girls are stronger and have the stamina. We hope they will utilise the facilities at NCOEs well." However, selection at NCOEs does not guarantee long-term membership. There are two assessments every year and players are judged on the three basic parameters - physical strength, sports science tests and skills.

The following players have been selected: For NCOE Lucknow: Shweta Upadhyay (Haryana), Rashi (Haryana).

For NCOE Mumbai: Laldinpuii (Mizoram), Binita Karketta (Jharkhand), Suneli Burh (Odisha), Salmi Jadia (Odisha).

For NCOE Delhi: Tulashi (Andhra Pradesh), Pearlin (Karnataka), Vanlarinluii (Mizoram), Lalnulfelli (Mizoram).

For NCOE Sonipat: Diya (Haryana).

For NCOE Bhopal: Aradhana Rajbhar (Uttar Pradesh), Shivani Khalko (Jharkhand). 

For NCOE Kolkata: Loicy Lalthanpuii (Mizoram), Lalfakwami (Mizoram).