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India's first woman Dronacharya awardee hockey coach – Pritam Siwach’s story is full of grit and determination; empowering girls through hockey
The Indian women's hockey team captain during the 1998 Asian Games Pritam Siwach – then Pritam Thakran – who made a comeback in the Indian squad after being a mother and was part of the historic 2002 Commonwealth Games winning squad on whose victory Bollywood movie 'Chak De India' was based.
Her sporting excellence as a player got her the country’s prestigious honour for the sportspersons, Arjuna award, in 1998.
In 2004, Pritam opened a free of cost hockey academy for girls in Sonipat, and since then she is playing an instrumental role in women's empowerment through hockey in the area. She gives wings to underprivileged girls to achieve big in the sporting world.
“Though Sonipat had a hockey culture for a long time, there were hardly any girls playing the sport in the area. One day my husband told me that we should start working on women's hockey, as the girls too deserve an equal opportunity to shine in the sport. So, we decided to open a hockey academy for the girls and since then it became my mission to empower the girls through hockey,” recalls Pritam. “Initially there were issues in getting the girls on the hockey field, but gradually we overcame this hurdle and today Sonipat is also famous for producing international women hockey players.” “With my first lot of trainees getting government jobs under the sports quota, it encouraged more parents to send their girls to the hockey field.”
Pritam’s story is full of grit and determination and she has become an example of women's empowerment not only in Sonipat or Haryana but also in the entire country.
Her coaching achievements got her the Dronacharya award today and became the country’s first woman hockey coach to get this prestigious honour. Three of her trainees were part of the Tokyo-bound women’s hockey team that finished historic fourth.