RANCHI: In a first, five players hailing from Jharkhand’s Simdega district, including Captain Salima Tete, have made it to the Indian Women’s Hockey team. But thats not all; in another first, two sisters from Jharkhand, Salima Tete and Mahima Tete, will be playing alongside each other in the national team.
The team will be led by Salima Tete, the formidable midfielder who has been named Captain, while her younger sister, Mahima, also a midfielder, has earned her debut place in the squad, sparking jubilations across the state and Simdega in particular. Her selection marks a significant representation from a region known for its grassroots hockey talent.
The Tete sisters will be joined in the forward line by Beauty Dungdung and Deepika Soreng, also hailing from Simdega. In addition, Anjana Dungdung, another Simdega girl, has been named among the standby players for the tournament, further highlighting the district’s strong contribution to Indian women’s hockey.
According to ‘Hockey Simdega’ president Manoj Konbegi, there is hockey in the soil of Simdega; he attributed the achievement to exposure to hockey since childhood in regular tournaments providing the required training and expreience to hone their talent.
Konbegi said since most of these girls come from very poor backgrounds, few have access to proper nutrients from their daily meal of ‘maad-bhaat’ (water-soaked rice); many started taking milk only after getting into the residential hockey centers in the district.
“Despite all odds, this is the first time as many as five players from Simdega have been given place in Indian Hockey Women’s team in the upcoming international tournament in Australia between April 26 and May 4,” said Konbegi.
Notably, Salima Tete’s talent was recognised for the first time by Manoj Konbegi, the organiser of the Lathakhaman hockey tournament and erstwhile secretary of Hockey Simdega. Salima won Best Player during the tournament. “When I saw her playing at the village tournament in 2011, I spoke to her father, urging him to send her to the hockey centre to hone her skills, but he did not pay heed,” Konbegi recalls.
Interestingly, Salima Tete, who once practiced with bamboo sticks in her childhood, has become the first woman hockey player from Jharkhand to receive the prestigious Arjuna Award for her exceptional contributions to the sport.
Salima’s journey in hockey has been one of resilience, as she overcame poverty and social constraints to achieve her present seat of success.