Salima, who once played with a stick made of bamboo splinters, became the brand ambassador of the Asian Hockey Federation.

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Ranchi | The Asian Hockey Federation has appointed Indian women’s hockey player Salima Tete as its athletic ambassador for the next two years. He has also been awarded the Emerging Player of the Year award by the Federation. Salima, who hails from a small village in Simdega district of Jharkhand, has won the hearts of the country and the world with her spectacular performance in many international level competitions including the Olympics, Commonwealth, World Cup, but her journey to reach here was a struggle. Is. His family still lives in a kutcha house in Simdega’s Badki Chhapar village. His father Sulakshan Tete has also been playing hockey at the local level. When her daughter Salima started playing hockey in the village ground, she did not even have a single hockey stick. She used to play with a stick made of bamboo splinters. In November 2013, Salima was selected by the Government of Jharkhand to run a residential hockey center in Simdega and in the same year was selected in the Jharkhand team for the National School Hockey Championship held in Ranchi in the last week of December. Her journey at the international level began in 2016, when she was selected for the junior Indian women’s team. After this, he performed brilliantly while playing for the country in many international hockey competitions including Tokyo Olympics, World Cup, Commonwealth Games. His game in the Tokyo Olympics was also appreciated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

When the Indian women’s hockey team was playing a quarter-final match at the Tokyo Olympics, Salima Tete, who was part of this team, did not even have a single TV set in her parental house so that her family members could watch her play. When Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren came to know about this, immediately a 43-inch smart TV and inverter was installed in his house.

To fulfill Salima’s hockey dreams, her elder sister Anima worked as a dishwasher in other’s homes from Bangalore to Simdega. That too when Anima herself was a great hockey player. He sacrificed his career to raise money for his sisters. Anima and Salima’s sister Mahima Tete also plays in the Jharkhand junior women’s hockey team.

Salima told IANS after receiving the Emerging Player of the Year award and being selected as the brand ambassador of the federation at the Asian Hockey Federation conference in Mungyeong City, Korea. Athletes in Asia face many challenges.(IANS)

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