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Lalremsiami, first female Olympian from Mizoram, showered with rewards for making India proud

Tokyo 2020 Olympics Lalremsiami
Tokyo Olympics: Lalremsiami of India in action against their match against Australia. (REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji)

The winner of the International Hockey Federation's Women’s Rising Star of the Year in 2020 took a liking for the sport at a very young age. Lalremsiami joined a state-run academy at Thenzawl, about 91 km from Aizawl (Mizoram’s capital) in 2011 when she was just 11 years old.

There was no looking back.

The Indian forward won the hearts of the sports fans back in 2019 when she chose to stay back with her team and play the FIH Women’s Series in Japan despite the death of her father Lalthansanga Zote. The Indian team clinched the series after defeating Japan to qualify for the Tokyo Olympics.

Lalremsiami and her team came really close to a medal in Tokyo. The Indian women's hockey team lost 3-4 to Great Britain in a hard-fought bronze play-off but the stout-hearted side managed to record its best-ever finish at The Games. Their incredible journey from finishing last in Rio in 2016 to 4th in Tokyo is one to be celebrated. And celebrating we are:

The promising young Indian was offered the Group-A post as an appreciation for her performance by the Mizoram government. Lalremsiami was made a chief coach in hockey discipline under the state sports and youth services department, a Group-A post similar to assistant director rank.

The state government also allotted a house plot measuring 691.85 square metres to Lalremsiami in her home town Kolasib.

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The state government had earlier also announced a cash reward of Rs 25 lakh for Lalremsiami, out of which, Rs 10 lakh was handed over to her mother Lalzarmawii on June 24.

Lalremsiami will arrive in Mizoram on August 25 and State sports director Lalsangliana said a special function will be held at Vanapa Hall in Aizawl on August 26 to give the hockey star a warm welcome.

“The remaining Rs 15 lakh cash incentive, job appointment letter and other rewards will be handed over to her during the ceremony,” he said.

Lalremsiami is the first woman Olympian from the state. The last Olympian from the state was archer C. Lalremsanga who represented India at the 1992 Barcelona and 1996 Atlanta Olympics.

She joined National Hockey Academy in New Delhi in 2016, made her national debut at Junior Nehru hockey tournament in October 2011 and was selected for India’s under 18 Asian Cup in December 2016.

In 2017 she got her first call to the senior team and is the first sportsperson from Mizoram to win a medal at the Asian Games - the silver medal for hockey that India had won in 2018.

The Indian team had clinched the series after defeating Japan to qualify for the Tokyo Olympics. She had also been named sports ambassador of Mizoram University in July 2019.

WITH PTI INPUTS