Indian women’s hockey team gets rousing welcome in London

London: The High Commission of India here gave a rousing welcome to the country’s women’s national hockey team as dignitaries sang paeans to the players for their achievements in the sport after overcoming obstacles on the road to success.

The women’s team, along with the senior India men’s squad, is in the United Kingdom for the FIH Pro League fixtures starting this weekend.

The Indian men’s and women’s sides are scheduled to play their counterparts from Germany here on Saturday.

“Each one of them represents every part of India and every region and community of India. Their stories are the most wonderful stories of what is possible in India,” said Indian High Commissioner to the UK Vikram Doraiswami, in his address at the reception.

The reception was held at the India House on Wednesday evening. “Each one of these girls is a story of sacrifice and struggle by their parents, and also a story of triumph and of spirit.

“These young ladies inspire every one of us today because what they have achieved tells us that there is no ceiling to human ambition, there is no ceiling in a country like India – where anything and everything can be possible,” Doraiswami added. The team, led by captain Salima Tete and coach Harendra Singh, were greeted by cheering supporters as community leaders and sports fans gathered at a special reception in their honour. Their first fixture will take place when they play Germany in London on Saturday and members of the Indian diaspora were encouraged to turn out in large numbers to support the team.

The Indian teams are coming to the UK after playing some difficult Pro League matches in Belgium against sides such as Argentina, Ireland and the hosts. The Indian envoy, himself a hockey player, reflected upon how playing England on their home soil will bring back some memories for the women’s team after narrowly losing to them in the last Olympics’ playoff.