Olympian Salima Tete’s village in Badkichapara in Jharkhand’s Simdega district was without electricity since Sunday owing to incessant rain during the last few days. So, her family and a few neighbours pooled in resources to arrange for a generator set watch their girl play against Australia in Tokyo.
As the hockey eves stunned their opponents with a 1-0 victory in a nail-biting finish on Monday, the whole of Simdega erupted in joy, celebrating India women's maiden entry to the hockey semi-finals of the Olympics.
Even chief minister Hemant Soren joined the rest of India to heap praise on the national women's team for inching closer to a medal. Congratulations to the entire women’s team for the historic feat by entering the semi-finals and prayers for further success, he said in a Hindi tweet.
Two players from Jharkhand—Salima Tete (Simdega) and Nikki Pradhan (Khunti) _ played Monday's high-octane quarter finals. While this is Salima’s first exposure on the Olympics stage, Nikki is representing the country in the Olympics for the second time.
Hockey Simdega president Manoj Konbegi said that the ongoing Olympics would help hockey regain some of its lost glory in the country. Hockey players in Simdega celebrate on Monday. The Telegraph picture
The Indian women will now take on Argentina in the semifinals on August 4.
Celebrations in Salima’s native district of Simdega, known as the hockey cradle of Jharkhand, continued through Monday. Players of all ages sang songs and danced to the beat of the nagada at the local astroturf hockey stadium built by the state government to nurture talent. Some players even took out a rally that marched through town areas hailing the team’s success.
Salima’s father Sulakshan Tete, a former player and now a small-time farmer, told local media that every family member harboured a single dream — a medal. “We are naturally excited to see our daughter in the Olympics. But we are more happy to see the team doing well after a poor start in the earlier matches. We are all praying that Team India returns with a medal,” he said.
An official of Hockey Simdega said that everyone in the village was worried after power lines tripped due to inclement weather. “We contacted the district administration for help and officials tried hard to repair the transformer. But due to the erratic weather, power wasn't restored. However, Salima’s family, along with local residents, managed to organise a generator set to watch the match,” the official said.
Hockey Simdega president Manoj Konbegi said that the ongoing Olympics would help hockey regain some of its lost glory in the country. “Both the men's and women’s teams have entered the semifinals. The entire country is now pinning hopes on them like never before. Win or lose, this tournament is sure to help the game and scores of budding players will start to dream big once again,” he said.
Also, Simdega, he added, would live up to its reputation of being the nursery of hockey in the state and churn out more promising players.
"Emotions are running high within the sporting fraternity. Currently, it’s hockey, hockey, hockey everywhere in the district. People are excited even more because two daughters of Jharkhand are also playing,” he added.
