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Savita Punia

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Savita Punia
Punia receiving the Arjuna Award, 2018
Personal information
Born (1990-07-11) 11 July 1990 (age 34)[1]
Jodhkan, Sirsa, Haryana, India
Height 1.71 m (5 ft 7 in)
Weight 60 kg (132 lb)
Playing position Goalkeeper[2]
Senior career
Years Team
2009– Hockey Haryana
2024– Soorma Hockey Club
National team
Years Team Caps Goals
2009– India 293 (0)
Medal record
Women's field hockey
Representing  India
Nations Cup
Gold medal – first place 2022 Spain Team
Commonwealth Games
Bronze medal – third place 2022 Birmingham Team
Asian Games
Silver medal – second place 2018 Jakarta Team
Bronze medal – third place 2014 Incheon Team
Bronze medal – third place 2022 Hangzhou Team
Asia Cup
Gold medal – first place 2017 Gifu Team
Silver medal – second place 2009 Bangkok Team
Bronze medal – third place 2013 Kuala Lumpur Team
Bronze medal – third place 2022 Muscat Team
Asian Champions Trophy
Gold medal – first place 2016 Singapore Team
Gold medal – first place 2023 Ranchi Team
Gold medal – first place 2024 Rajgir Team
Silver medal – second place 2013 Kakamigahara Team
Silver medal – second place 2018 Donghae Team

Savita Punia (born 11 July 1990)[3] is an Indian field hockey player and a member of the India women's national team.[4] She plays as the goalkeeper and is known as the Great Wall of India.[5] Her performance at the 2020 Olympics is widely appreciated.[6]

Early life

Savita Punia was born on 11 July 1990 in Jodhkan village of Sirsa district in Haryana. She was sent to the district headquarters for better schooling. She was enrolled in the sports academy. She was encouraged by her grandfather Mahinder Singh to take up hockey and joined the Sports Authority of India (SAI) center at Hisar.[7] She was coached by Sunder Singh Kharab during her early years and later coached by Azad Singh Malik.[8] She was initially not too interested in the game, but later, when her father spent Twenty Thousand Rupees on her kit, she started to see the game in a new light and got serious about it. In 2007, Punia was picked for a maiden national camp in Lucknow, and she trained with a top goalkeeper.[9]

Career

In 2008, Punia made her first international tour, a four-nation event in Netherlands and Germany.[10] She made her senior international debut in the year 2011. She has featured in more than 100 games at the international level. She qualified for the national team in 2007 when she was barely 17. In 2009, she participated as a member of the team in the Junior Asia Cup. In 2013, she participated in the Eighth Women's Asia Cup held in Malaysia in which she saved two crucial potential goals in the penalty shoot-out and paved the way for India to win a bronze medal. She was a part of the bronze-winning team at the 2014 Incheon Asian Games.

In the year 2016, she displayed excellent performance when she withstood a barrage of penalty corners against Japan in the last 1 minute to help India hold on to its 1–0 lead. She helped the team qualify for the Rio Olympics after 36 years. In the Asia Cup of 2018, she made an astonishing save against China in the final, earning herself the goalkeeper of the tournament award and for her team, a slot in the 2018 World Cup in London.[11]

She performed effectively at the Hawke's Bay Cup in New Zealand and helped her team finish 6th in the tournament.[12]

Her outstanding performance helped the women's Indian team to beat Chile in the final match of the Women's Hockey World League Round 2.[13]

In an interview in 2016, Punia revealed that she had been promised a job under the Haryana Government's Medal Lao, Naukri Pao scheme, but hasn't got it. A year later too, she said that nothing had changed.

Accolades

She was awarded the Baljit Singh Goalkeeper of the Year award at the Hockey India Annual Awards in 2015, for having phenomenal performances for India in international contributions which proved her worth as the best goalkeeper in the country. She also received a cash reward of 1 lakh rupees for her contribution to the sports.[14]

References

  1. ^ "Goalie Savita Punia, who stood like a wall, loved listening to hockey commentary on radio as a child". TribuneIndia. Retrieved 7 August 2021.
  2. ^ "Who is Savita Punia? Five things to know about India's unflappable hockey goalkeeper". Olympics. Retrieved 7 August 2021.
  3. ^ "Savita Punia". Forbes India. Retrieved 5 August 2021.
  4. ^ "Savita Punia: From lugging kit on Haryana roadways buses to Olympic glory". Indian Express. 6 August 2021. Retrieved 7 August 2021.
  5. ^ "Wall of India! Social Media Hails Savita Punia as Indian Women's Hockey Team Reach Semis". News18. 2 August 2021. Retrieved 7 August 2021.
  6. ^ "Savita "The Wall" Punia, #ChakDeIndia Trend As Hockey Team Reaches Semis". NDTV. Retrieved 7 August 2021.
  7. ^ Sen, Debayan (19 July 2018). "Savita Punia fulfills grandfather's dream to become world's best". ESPN. Retrieved 22 July 2018.
  8. ^ "Savita Punia: 10 things to know about India's female hockey goalkeeper at Rio Olympics 2016". 14 July 2016. Retrieved 13 May 2017.
  9. ^ "Savita Punia fulfills grandfather's dream to become world's best". ESPN. Retrieved 28 July 2018.
  10. ^ Patwardhan, Deepti (14 March 2018). "Savita Punia: India's lady in shining armour". livemint.com. Retrieved 28 July 2018.
  11. ^ "Savita Punia – Forbes India Magazine". Forbes India. Retrieved 28 July 2018.
  12. ^ "Once reluctant player, Savita Punia keeps India in Olympic chase". The Indian Express. 7 July 2015. Retrieved 13 May 2017.
  13. ^ "India Women's team beat Chile via penalty shootout in Hockey World League Round 2 final". Retrieved 13 May 2017.
  14. ^ "Savita Punia: 10 things to know about India's female hockey goalkeeper at Rio Olympics 2016". 14 July 2016. Retrieved 13 May 2017.
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