Jharkhand’s golden girls return home to rousing welcome

Gumla: It was a homecoming filled with pride, emotion and celebration as Jharkhand’s Asian Games gold medallists — Indian women’s hockey captain Salima Tete, defender Nikki Pradhan, and strikers Beauty Dungdung and Deepika Soreng — received a grand welcome in Ranchi on Sunday.The players were greeted at Birsa Munda Airport by family members, women’s hockey stalwarts, Hockey Jharkhand officials, trainers and fans. Players taking part in the ongoing Khelo Jharkhand hockey championship danced with hockey sticks and cheered as dhol and nagara beats filled the air. Slogans of “Jharkhand ki betiyaan zindabaad” and Indian hockey victory chants echoed across the airport.The emotional high point came when the players met their parents and sought their blessings.Later, chief minister Hemant Soren received the four athletes at his residence. He felicitated them with shawls and sweets, while MLA Kalpana Soren served them coconut water. In an informal interaction, Hemant enquired about their well-being, diet, training routine, food during foreign tours, favourite countries and their experience at the continental tournament. He also held their gold medals.Nikki told TOI, “We are all very tired now. The moment we lie down, we start dozing off. But what was most important during our Asian Games campaign was the team’s firm mindset and single-minded focus on winning the gold medal. During our stay in Gifu, we remained fully concentrated on our only goal and approached every match like a final.”“The contribution of Jharkhand’s players to India’s gold-medal victory at the Asian Games is a matter of great pride and honour for both the state and the country,” Hemant said. He added that their talent, hard work, discipline and indomitable spirit had enhanced the nation’s prestige.He said the achievement had added another glorious chapter to Jharkhand’s sporting history and would inspire young athletes, particularly the state’s daughters. He urged the players to continue bringing glory to India and said govt was working to identify and nurture sporting talent.Vijay Shanker Singh, Asrita Lakra, Manoj Konbegi, Rajneesh Kumar, Michael Lal, Dasrath Mahto, Savitri Purty and former national women’s team captain Sumrai Tete were among those present at the airport.Purty said, “These players possess a lot of talent that needs to be maintained in future also; besides, they will have to prepare wholeheartedly for the 2028 Olympics now.”Stay updated with the latest Ranchi news. Download the TOI App.