Khelo India U21 star Deepika outlines plans to represent Indian Hockey at Paris Olympics

Indian hockey player Deepika has grabbed the headlines since the commencement of the Khelo India U21 Women’s Hockey League. She has scored eight goals from three matches in the competition.

The India Junior Women’s hockey team are engaged in preparations for the Junior Women’s Hockey World Cup. The World Cup, which was slated to be held in 2021 December, will now take place in 2022 owing to the Omicron variant of the coronavirus.

While speaking about the ongoing Khelo India U21 Women’s Hockey League, Deepika stated that she is targeting to represent India at the next Olympics.

"This tournament is just the start and there is a long road ahead and many dreams to fulfil for me. My focus is on the Olympics and I will be very happy if not just me, every player of the squad playing today, gets to compete in the Olympics. We have been playing together for 3-4 years and the bonding among us is very good. We keep encouraging all our teammates during the match," said Deepika.

Hailing from a family of wrestlers, Deepika wanted to pursue hockey as her career.

“There are mostly wrestlers in my family, my uncle, my brother, they all are wrestlers and they wanted me to be in that sport too. But, I was determined to play hockey. I want to prove that it is not necessary to be in wrestling if you are from Haryana but can also participate in other sports,” added Deepika.

Deepika asserted that the team has been training hard and all the minute details are being thoroughly looked into.

“We have been training together at the SAI National Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru since 2019 and we are provided with diet and every requirement we want. Hockey India, too, helps us in the best way possible. They fulfil whatever we require and I am thankful to both SAI and Hockey India for doing this much in our journey."

“We’re getting all the best possible support from the staff ahead of the World Cup. Our coach Erik Wonink sir is working especially hard to make us fully prepared for the Hockey World Cup, postponed to next year,” said Deepika.

Indian junior hockey star Deepika idolizes Virat Kohli

Deepika started playing hockey in 2011. Speaking about how she started playing the sport, she said:

“I started playing the game when I was probably 7 or 8. There was immense support from my coach as well as my family. Back when I started out, I used to accompany my brother to the akhada for his wrestling training. On the way, I used to see a hockey field and I instantly fell in love with the game. I told my parents then itself that I don’t want to play any game but hockey."

Deepika is a big fan of Virat Kohli's fighting spirit and idolizes the Indian Test captain. She said:

“I idolize those who don’t back down in life. Virat Kohli has seen a lot of ups and downs in his career as well as struggles and he is now in a big stage in his life."