Rotterdam (Netherlands): Hockey India on Saturday congratulated midfielder Neha on completing 100 international caps. She achieved the milestone during India’s FIH Women’s Hockey Pro League 2021/22 match against Argentina here on Saturday.
Neha has been a regular in the Indian women’s hockey team lineup over the past couple of years and has been one of the key players in the ongoing FIH Women’s Hockey Pro League 2021/22 tournament for the country.
Speaking on achieving the milestone, the 25-year-old said, “I am grateful to represent the country every time I receive the opportunity to do so. I am proud of the growth our team has made over the past few years, and I am glad to be a part of this growth. I am thankful to everyone in the team for helping me along the way as well.”
Neha made a name for herself with a string of solid performances for the Indian women’s junior team. At the age of 14, she was selected for the India squad for the Junior Women’s Asia Cup in 2011. She was, then, selected for the U-21 Four-Nations Lal Bahadur Shastri Women’s Hockey Tournament in the same year, in which she received the Player of the Tournament award for her outstanding performance. Neha made her debut for the Indian women’s senior team in 2014 at the FIH Champions Challenge in Glasgow.
She went on to become a key member of the squad that earned a silver medal at the 5th Women’s Asian Champions Trophy in 2018. She also played a role in India’s historic silver medal win at the 2018 Asian Games in Jakarta-Palembang. In 2019, Neha was honoured with the Hockey India Ajit Pal Singh Award for Midfielder of the Year.
She became a key player of the Indian women’s hockey team at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, where they finished fourth, and was a driving force in the midfield behind India’s recent bronze medal-winning effort at the 2022 Women’s Asia Cup in Muscat.
Congratulating Neha on her 100th international cap, Chief Coach Janneke Schopman said, “As a player, it is always special to complete a milestone and I believe Neha has the talent and determination to go on to achieve bigger milestones in her career. I congratulate her on completing 100 international caps. She has faced several hardships to reach where she is now and is a big inspiration to many young girls coming from her region. I wish her more success in the future.”
(IANS)
