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Teachers Day Special - Changing lives through Hockey: The story of coach Pritam Siwach
First as a player and now as a coach, Pritam Siwach is playing a pivotal role in inspiring girls to pursue hockey as a career.
After getting married and entering motherhood, former Indian women’s hockey team captain Pritam Siwach made a comeback in the Indian squad for the 2002 Commonwealth Games. At that time, she was the only mother in the entire Indian contingent, across all disciplines.
"In the 2002 CWG, we won the historic gold, and that win changed the scenario of Women's hockey. The victory inspired the blockbuster Bollywood movie 'Chak De India.' Being a mother and winning gold for the country at the Commonwealth Games motivated girls to extend their playing careers. There was a time when marriage was a compulsory stopover for women in Indian sports, but in the last two decades, things have changed, and now you will see many married girls, including those who have become mothers, pursuing sports at the top level," said Pritam Siwach, who once hung up her boots after leading the Indian women to a silver medal in the 1998 Asian Games due to marriage.
After her marriage, Arjuna awardee Pritam settled in Sonipat, and in 2004, she opened a free-of-cost hockey academy for girls in the city. Since then, she has been shaping the careers of young girls, many of whom come from humble backgrounds.
“To provide equal opportunities for girls to shine in the sport, I opened a hockey academy, and since then, it has become my mission to empower girls through hockey,” said Pritam, who became the country’s first female coach to be honored with the prestigious Dronacharya award in 2021. “Initially, there were many issues, including resistance from parents, in getting girls onto the hockey field. But with my first group of trainees securing government jobs under the sports quota, things started changing, and now parents want their daughters to pursue hockey as a career."
Lately, the Pritam Siwach Hockey Academy has become one of the country’s top women's hockey nurseries.