"When I Entered Hockey, There Was No Real Encouragement for Girls," Recalls Soundarya Yendala

Soundarya Yendala, coach of the India Women's Hockey Team, recently shared her journey and experiences in hockey and coaching with ETV Bharat. She highlighted the lack of encouragement for girls in the sport when she initially entered, underscoring the challenges faced by female players during that time.

Nizamabad (Telangana): India Women's Hockey Team coach Soundarya Yendala said hockey is now gaining recognition, but when she entered the game, there was no real encouragement for girls. Sharing her experience with ETV Bharat, Telugu native Soundarya Yendala said, ''Hockey is now gaining recognition, but when I entered the game, there was no real encouragement for girls. My father worked as a mason and my mother used to roll Beedis. I am the eldest of three children and these works were not enough to solve the problems.”

“The coaches, who noticed that I liked playing hockey, recognised the player in me and guided me. As it costs a lot to go to tournaments, consume good nutritious food and buy sports equipment like shoes, my parents were not ready to allow me to opt for sports. However, seeing my enthusiasm, my grandfather could not deny it and he used to help me financially from time to time,” she added.

''After getting a seat in the Sports Authority of India (SAI) I was able to focus on the game with the encouragement of the coaches there. In 2006, I got an opportunity to lead the state team played hard there and was selected for the national team. Till then, no one from Telugu states was selected for the national team. That was my first win. Seeing me, my younger brother Sagar also excelled in hockey at the national level. He is currently working as a coach for the District Sports Authority,” Yendala said.

''It is not easy to excel in the national team. At first, I faced many difficulties due to the language barrier as I didn't know much Hindi. I was in the team, but I didn't get a chance to get on the field. I used to get a chance when the main players were injured, and I utilised the chance and I have shown my talent. Then I became a key member of the team,” Yendala pointed out.

Meanwhile, I suffered injuries on my arm and I missed the game for two years. At that time, without losing confidence, I returned and proved myself and took the responsibilities as vice-captain and captain. I represented more than a hundred international matches, including the Olympics,” Yendala said.

''I represented the national team for 10 years from 2006 to 2016. After that, I applied in 2022 with the desire to settle down as a coach. After 10 years of experience as a player, I was allowed to become an assistant coach for the national team. So far we had a foreign coach. I worked as an assistant coach and was the head coach of our country's team in the recent World Cup hockey tournament held in Oman,” said Soundarya Yendala.

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