Drag-flicker claims she never anticipated making the squad for the Asian Games:Deepika

The Hisar girl Deepika was overjoyed to be chosen as one of the drag flickers on the Indian women’s hockey team for the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou. She claimed that her family had been supportive of her career choice despite all the outside noise in conservative societies.

As she and her brother were in route to a wrestling practice in 2012, drag flicker Deepika grabbed up a hockey stick, and after years of dedication, she ultimately rose through the ranks to join the national women’s hockey squad.

The 19-year-old reflected on her early hockey days by saying, “My family has always been supportive of my hockey career; even though a lot was said about me when I first started playing, my father never let it reach my ears,” before adding, “And after my first sub-junior National Championships in 2017, they started motivating me even more, their belief in me was visible.”

In March 2018, Deepika made her debut as a forward for the young Indian women’s hockey team in the Youth Olympic Qualifiers. Since then, she has participated in both the women’s junior Asia Cup team, where India won gold, and the FIH hockey women’s junior world cup 2021 in Potchefstroom, South Africa, where her team came fourth.

“With everyone competing for a slot, I never expected to make the squad, so when I learned I did, I was overjoyed. Being selected for the Asian Games team was her first major competition, so she was initially apprehensive. However, head coach Janneke Schopman and the more experienced players helped her to remain calm.

“Seeing dad as delighted as a kid when he was in Bengaluru for the send-off ceremony was incredibly rewarding. My father has had a few restless nights since he found out, I assume because he can’t believe it’s really happening. He said he didn’t expect I’d get selected, but he is really pleased of what I’m doing, she continued.

The presence of former India drag flicker Rupinder Pal Singh at the training camp helped Deepika, who scored seven goals in six games in the women’s junior Asia Cup, improve the technical side of her game.Rupinder Pal Singh has been working with us in camp for a few days on drag flicking; he has us practicing defeating the initial rusher, demonstrating where the ball may be stopped, and teaching us how to release if the ball is stopped on the sides. The 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou will surely benefit from all of this assistance for me in match scenarios, the adolescent stated.

Deepika is excited about the possibility of being one of the useful drag flick choices on the side for the Asian Games and wants to help India put up a good display there.

When asked whether she feels under pressure when taking penalty corners, she said, “I don’t feel under pressure to score by flicking, all the players let me concentrate on my talent and urge me to keep the shot on goal as much as I can.

In Pool A at the Asian Games, the Indian women’s hockey team will compete against teams from Korea, Malaysia, Hong Kong, China, and Singapore.