Bengaluru, Feb 28 : Born in Jhansi, 21-year-old Jyoti Singh is already making waves in Indian hockey. The youngster has already shown her credentials in her brief career so far, captaining India at the FIH Hockey Women's Junior World Cup City of Santiago 2025. She also made her senior debut last year, featuring in four matches of the FIH Hockey Pro League 2024/25 (Women), including a remarkable win against World No. 1, the Netherlands, a performance that highlighted her readiness for the biggest stage.

Jyotiâ??s journey with sports started at a very young age, when she visited training grounds with her father, who was an international long distance runner. However, it was her cousin sister who inspired her to pick up the hockey stick at the age of 11.

Reflecting on her journey so far, Jyoti shared, â??Sports runs in my family. My father was an international athlete, so Iâ??d go to the ground with him to do some running, and also play some badminton. However, it was my cousin sister who inspired me to play hockey. She was part of the senior academy. Whenever she would come home for summer vacations, I would spend time with her and want to be like her.â??

Highlighting the role her family played throughout her career, Jyoti shared, â??My family and my coaches always supported me, there was never any pressure. Itâ??s a privilege for me to come from a family of sports people because they have gone through similar experiences. My father has been an athlete, so he guides me from his learnings. Even my mom, although sheâ??s not from a sports background, supports me a lot and pushes me, especially mentally.â??

Taking the first steps towards fulfilling her dream of becoming a professional hockey player, Jyoti moved to Madhya Pradesh, where she further honed her skills at the Madhya Pradesh Womenâ??s Hockey Academy in Gwalior.

Since then, achievements have followed her throughout her short career thus far. She led the junior Indian team to a Gold medal in the Womenâ??s Junior Asia Cup 2024. More recently, she also played a key role in helping SG Pipers clinch the Womenâ??s Hero Hockey India League title in the second edition of the tournament earlier this year.

Despite her young age, itâ??s not difficult to see why Jyoti has flourished and already made her mark on the big stage. Itâ??s her maturity and clarity of thought, especially in the face of weighing expectations, that stand out as key features of her game.

â??Sometimes, when you expect more from yourself but arenâ??t able to perform at that level, that can be difficult. Itâ??s challenging when youâ??re in the learning stage of your career and are playing alongside or competing with the senior players, but you canâ??t match up to that competition because youâ??re not at that level yet.

â??That is the time when you need to understand that the difference is down to the experience. In these situations, itâ??s important for me to go back to the basics and then gradually rebuild to a level where I can perform to the best of my abilitiesâ??, Jyoti noted.

As she trains in the national camp with a crucial period ahead for Indian womenâ??s hockey - starting with the FIH Hockey World Cup 2026 Qualifiers Hyderabad, Telangana - Jyotiâ??s focus remains on fine-tuning her game and making the most of her opportunities.

â??This year is very crucial for India. We have the World Cup Qualifiers and the Asian Games coming up. So, my focus is on being the best player that I can be and giving it my all on the field whenever I get a chance to play for the countryâ??, she concluded.

/IANS