Lalremsiami: Don't think anything beats first moment of representing India

The 20-year-old forward has established herself as a core member of the Indian women's hockey team.

Lalremsiami made her debut for the Indian women's hockey team in 2017 in a five-match series against Belarus in Bhopal. She has been an integral part of the team since then and has played a crucial role in India's success in the last two years.

She has also been recognised as one of the most exciting young prospects in the game and revealed that her debut for the Indian team was the proudest moment of her career.

"There have been a few moments in my [short] career. I don’t think anything beats the feeling of the first moment you represent your country, wearing the Indian jersey. I have been fortunate to have been part of the team that played in the World Cup (London, 2018) and qualifying for the Olympics made all of us very proud," said Lalremsiami to FIH.

She has been part of the Indian team in many tournaments, including the Hockey Women’s World Cup 2018 (London), 2018 Asian Games (Jakarta) and the 3rd Youth Olympic Games (Buenos Aires. 2019 was Lalremsiami's year, as the Indian team qualified for the upcoming Olympics and she won the FIH Women’s Rising Star of the Year award as well.

However, her ultimate goal is to do well for her country in the Olympics. She said, "I believe it‘s been a learning curve for me personally and for the team. In the past few years we have been playing together for a while now, and it shows in the way we play."

"I believe I have been very fortunate to play for India at such great tournaments early in my career. I think the ultimate goal for any hockey player is to represent your country at the Olympics and try to do well for the country."

Coming from a small village in Mizoram, Lalremsiami's journey to the national team hasn't been easy. She credits her parents for her success on the hockey turf and also advised youngsters to follow their dream.

She revealed, "During my school days we had hockey as a sport. That is how I started playing hockey. The biggest influencers and my biggest supporters have been my parents. They have always pushed me to do my best and keep going, no matter what. I cannot ever thank them enough for all they have done for me."

"For young players, I want to say that train hard, work hard and always believe in yourself. Set yourself small and achievable goals and work towards them. But, most importantly, be happy doing all of these things and never give up on yourself."

The Indian team is currently training at the Sports Authority of India (SAI) campus in Bengaluru and taking necessary precautions due to the COVI-19 pandemic.

"As you are much aware, the Indian women’s hockey team has been involved in a fundraising campaign to help feed 1000 families. We did small and exciting challenges using social media and now we achieved our goal. As usual, I am doing the workout to stay active and keep myself fit and healthy," concluded Lalremsiami.