New Delhi: Watching fellow drag-flicker Deepika Sehrawat punch in goal-after-goal to attain 5, Manisha Chauhan didn’t need to be left behind. Within the final 5 minutes of the spherical robin conflict in opposition to Thailand, the 25-year-old additionally sounded the board twice to assist the Indian girls’s hockey group win 13-0 in Rajgir on Friday.
Manisha Chauhan in motion in opposition to Thailand within the Asian Champions Trophy in Rajgir. (HI)
The 2 objectives have been additionally the primary of Manisha’s profession, enjoying in solely her fifth worldwide for India. Despite the fact that the objectives got here in opposition to world No.29 Thailand – the bottom ranked group within the Asian Champions Trophy – they have been an amazing increase to the midfielder’s confidence, who made her debut in Could.
Central to chief coach Harendra Singh’s plan of constructing a sturdy group of drag-flickers with the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics in thoughts, Manisha is presently being seen because the group’s second battery after Deepika in penalty corners (PC).
Hailing from Uttarakhand, Manisha’s strengths are drag-flicks and aerial balls which noticed her rise rapidly up the ladder within the home circuit. “I also play in the midfield which makes my passing skills and tackling in defence very important,” says Manisha.
Her curiosity in hockey started when she was learning in school 5 of Haridwar’s Shri Ram Vidya Mandir College. Again then she would play soccer, handball and had additionally gained state-level medals in athletics occasions like lengthy soar and shot put. Noticing her velocity and athleticism, the varsity coach requested her if she needed to strive hockey. She promptly agreed.
There was no trying again for Manisha as she began performing with the stick at school competitions nearly instantly, successful the ‘Best Player’ title in Central Board of Secondary Training (CBSE) Nationals.
It was throughout this era that Manisha’s coach Balwinder Singh realised the teen had it in her to develop into a very good drag-flicker. “My coach told me that drag-flickers are in demand in modern hockey and I had the ability, strength, height and power to become a good one,” says Manisha, who went to Delhi SG Pipers for ₹12.5 lakh on the current Hockey India League (HIL) auctions.
Within the absence of synthetic turfs at each faculty and close by areas, Balwinder discovered a ‘jugaad’ in a cricket mat, on which he made Manisha observe her flicks and scoops. By the point she started enjoying on the junior nationwide stage, Manisha was already far forward of her opponents, who had nonetheless not mastered the artwork of flicking on synthetic turf.
“Practice is the only way to master drag-flicks. Even now, I spend extra time before and after practice—at least 25 flicks to perfect my angular shots. I practice flicks after training, when I’m tired, because it helps with core strengthening.”
Manisha was rewarded for her constant scoring as a key participant of the Uttarakhand junior group by being named captain in 2016. It helped her earn a call-up from the junior nationwide camp. However as soon as she reached Bengaluru, Manisha realised that solely drag-flicks alone weren’t going to see her by. She wanted to work on her total recreation and expertise if she needed to make the Indian group.
Manisha misplaced her spot within the camp in 2018, by no means once more representing the India juniors. Undeterred, she continued to work on her expertise and returned to the grind, enjoying in home tournaments. A 12 months later, she was chosen for the Nationwide Centre of Excellence within the nationwide capital for her efficiency in Khelo India.
She captained the Sports activities Authority of India (SAI) group to the ultimate of the 2021 Inter-Departmental Nationals, the place she additionally gained the ‘Best Midfielder of the Tournament’ award. In 2023, throughout the Senior Nationals, Manisha represented Manipur, the state the place she was born.
Her stellar efficiency earned her a spot within the senior nationwide camp for the primary time at the beginning of this 12 months. Inside a month, she was chosen by Harendra to accomplice Deepika within the PC battery earlier than making her debut in opposition to Argentina within the Professional League.
The Chauhan family went by a transition in Could when Manisha’s father retired from the Border Safety Drive (BSF), whereas the 25-year-old was named in India’s squad for the Belgium and England Professional League tour.
“I’ve always dreamt of this moment—walking onto the pitch wearing the blue India jersey—ever since I started playing hockey. The coaching and support staff have put their trust in me, and now it’s on me to repay their faith,” she says.
Manisha’s expertise can be put to the check on Saturday when India faces Olympic silver medallists China, who, regardless of travelling to India with solely two gamers from their Paris Olympics aspect, will nonetheless be a pressure to reckon with.