Savita Punia has made history by becoming India’s most capped women’s hockey player, achieving this milestone on Monday. Despite this significant accomplishment, she remains humble and grounded.
With 321 international caps, surpassing retired great Vandana Katariya’s previous record of 320, the seasoned goalkeeper has rewritten Indian women’s hockey history. She broke this record during India’s dominant 17-1 victory over Indonesia in a Pool B match at the Asian Games. the team has worked heavily on clinical finishing upfront, drawing confidence from an effective attacking display against Germany, which they won 3-1 in the World Cup While India’s defensive structure earned praise against top-tier opposition.
Recalling how tournament brackets flipped unexpectedly at the previous Asian Games, where India finished with bronze and couldn’t qualify for the final, the squad is maintaining a strict quarter-by-quarter focus.
The milestone comes on the heels of a historic World Cup campaign where India secured a fifth-place finish, their best show at the quadrennial showpiece since finishing fourth in the inaugural edition in 1974. Having arrived early in Japan to acclimatise for the Asian Games, the squad logged 12-13 practice matches following an initial recovery week after the World Cup in India. In a recent interview with this daily, former India chief coach Neil Hawgood, who guided the team to their first Olympic qualifying in 36 years at Rio 2016, suggested the squad lacks individual game-changers like Rani Rampal or Vandana.
“Breaking the record of Vandana, who was the most hardworking and fit player in our team, it is definitely a big thing for me,” Savita told HT from Kakamigahara, the hockey venue of the Asian Games. With the same discipline and focus, we have to start this new journey,” said Savita, who was honoured with Padma Shri — India’s fourth highest civilian honour — this year. Despite the accolades, the team’s consensus is clear — good is not enough. “Everyone knows the World Cup was a good tournament for us, but there is always room for improvement. The coach’s message is simple: whatever happened is over. A major focus in training has been sharpening their circle-entry conversion. But Savita firmly pushed back against the critique.
