Grandpa inspired hockey player Savita Punia, would together hear commentary

Sushil Manav

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, August 2

For Savita Punia, Indian women hockey team goalkeeper who proved to be “The Great Wall” on Monday by thwarting every attempt by Australian team to score a goal, listening to the radio commentary of matches with her grandfather during her childhood was always fascinating.

This “childhood love” for the sport prompted her to opt for hockey, when her family decided to send Savita and her cousin Manju to a newly launched sports nursery in Sirsa in 2003. “My father Ranjit Singh Punia, though an uneducated farmer, was progressive in his outlook. He would always motivate his children and grandchildren to concentrate on studies and sports, as he knew that with dwindling landholdings, future was in government jobs,” says Savita’s father Mahender Singh Punia, who works as pharmacist at the Primary Health Centre at Ding, near the family’s native Jodhkan village in Sirsa.

Since the team’s victory in which Savita saved nine shots at the goal, Mahender’s phone hasn’t stopped ringing.

Born on July 11, 1990, Savita has an elder brother who works as a Group D employee in the ITI, Sirsa, and a homemaker mother. Since 2018, Savita has been working as an assistant coach with SAI in Delhi. Within a year of her joining the nursery, Savita’s coach Sunder Singh Kharab identified her qualities as a goalkeeper, looking at her height and agility.

“Kharab called me and said if I was ready to train my daughter as a goalkeeper, she would wear Team India jersey one day. I told him I don’t know anything about hockey and will go by whatever he thinks is good for Savita,” remembers her father.

But the next condition to buy a kit was too much for Mahender whose monthly income in 2004 was just Rs 12,000 per month and the kit cost over Rs 17,000. However, Savita’s passion was much bigger for him and he didn’t think twice before buying a new kit from Hisar.

“During those times, Savita used to travel in roadways buses with her kit. Conductors would often object to keeping the kit in the bus and ask Savita to keep it on the roof instead. Since she knew the hardships her family faced in buying her the kit, she used to feel bad at the attitude of the roadways staff,” Mahender says.

In 2007, Savita joined the SAI in Hisar and by 2009 she had already played the Junior Asia Cup, in which India won a bronze. In 2013 Asia Cup, Savita was adjudged the best goalkeeper. Ever since, she has been a consistent player.