“Bada acha laga ji,” Pritam told The Indian Express. Seeing my students play and one of them even led a team as captain and won the trophy… it felt really good. My mind went back. When Neha was a little kid, hanging on the grill of the gate, came to the ground wearing unkempt clothes… today she is leading a HIL team that has Olympic gold medallists, and not just that, playing so well too. It’s a moment of immense pride, and not just about Neha, all my kids who played in the league.”

Pritam Siwach (fifth from left) with India coach Harendra Singh (c) and players who are from Pritam’s academy after the Women’s HIL final. (Special Arrangement)

Odisha had Neha, Nisha, Sakshi and Kanika. In the Soorma squad, there were Jyoti and Sharmila. With a couple of players in reserves across the two finalists, and the likes of Shilpi Dabas, Mahima Choudhary for Bengal Tigers and Manisha for Delhi SG Pipers, a total of 12 players in the HIL learned their trade at Pritam and Kuldeep’s academy.

Underneath the sense of joy, there was an undercurrent of regret too. Pritam wasn’t a part of any of the coaching setups in the HIL. “I won’t lie, it did feel a little bad. I worked so hard at the grassroots level. The only female hockey Dronacharya awardee coach. But then I thought there are 11 girls who I have trained and they are playing. My husband and I discussed that we would go watch the matches and see where they are lacking so that when I meet them next I can tell them,” Pritam said.

“If I was working for just one team, maybe that wouldn’t have been possible. Even during the final people asked me which team I am supporting. One side there was Neha and my daughter, the other there was Sharmila and Jyoti.. my husband and I were just laughing at that question.”

That regret, of course, faded away as she got a chance to step on to the field in Ranchi and share special moments with her wards. “Sakshi (17 years old) is going to become one of the best players in the world, let me tell you,” gushed Pritam. “Her parents worked in the local canteen. She is a very sharp girl, has a brilliant brain and god has given her so much talent. She’ll go very far. You’ll tell me one day I was right.”

Pritam had told Jyoti, who had lost her father to an accident in 2009 and her mother last year, that she is like their daughter now. Then there is also her 19-year old daughter Kanika, the tall attacker who played regularly for Janneke Schopman’s champions. (Her son Yashdeep is also playing the men’s HIL).

“I used to take my kids to the ground when I was coaching, and I didn’t force them to play hockey or anything. Their interest grew automatically. During Covid times, we used to play 2-vs-2 between the four of us. And sometimes my daughter complains. ‘You are my mother too, but you are always telling me things like a teacher!’ There are a lot of hockey discussions in our house, as you can imagine,” smiles Siwach, who’s Whatsapp photo is a collage of her and the children playing hockey.

Pritam also takes pride in the fact her academy is all about empowering girls in the Sonepat area. And to finally witness a high-level commercial hockey league for women, felt like vindication. “It absolutely felt like seeing the fruits of our labour. Very few used to work for women’s hockey in my time. ‘What will girls do playing hockey, wearing shorts and all?’ is something I heard a lot. Today so many of my girls now give back to the academy, even take care of school fees in some cases. Today, you won’t believe the crowd you can see at my ground.”

(With Mihir Vasavda’s inputs)