Mizoram announces cash reward, plot of land for hockey player Lalremsiami

Aizwal: Indian women’s hockey team didn’t win a medal at the Tokyo Olympics, but they won a lot more. They won back the respect for Indian’s national sport.

The Mizoram government will offer a government job and a plot of land to Indian women’s hockey star Lalremsiami as an appreciation of her participation and performance in Tokyo Olympics.

The announcement was made by Chief Minister Zoramthanga on Friday.

Taking to Twitter, the CM announced, “Our hockey star Lalremsiami will be offered a government job & will be given a house plot at her hometown.

Govt of Mizoram had sanctioned Rs. 20 Lakhs for her preparation; will reward her with another Rs. 25 lakhs cash incentive for her participation at the Tokyo Olympics 2020.”

Out of the Rs 25 lakh, the Mizoram government had on June 24 handed over Rs 10 lakh to Lalremsiami’s mother Lalzarmawii.

State sports minister Robert Romawia Royte had earlier said that the remaining Rs 15 lakh will be given personally to Lalremsiami when the Olympic Games are over.

The 21-year-old star from Mizoram’s Kolasib town, which borders Assam, is known to be the first female Olympian from a sports-loving Mizoram.

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The last Olympian from the state was archer C. Lalremsanga, who represented India at the 1992 Barcelona and 1996 Atlanta Olympics.

Lalremsiami was part of the Indian women’s hockey team that participates in the ongoing Tokyo Olympics. 

However, the Indian women’s hockey team’s dreams for a bronze medal were dashed on Friday after losing for the third rank to Great Britain 3-4.

Lalremsiami took to hockey at a very young age and joined a state run academy at Thenzawl, about 91 km from Aizawl in 2011 when she was 11. She then moved to the National Hockey Academy in New Delhi in 2016.

She made her National debut at Junior Nehru hockey tournament in October 2011 and was subsequently selected for India’s under 18 Asian Cup in December 2016.

In 2017,  Lalremsiami got her first call to the senior team that won gold in the Asia Cup while she was having a trail in junior team in Bangalore.

She is the first sportsperson from Mizoram to win a medal at the Asian Games when India won silver in 2018.

The high spirited girl won hearts when she chose to stay back with her teammates and played the FIH Women’s Series in Japan despite the death of her father Lalthansanga Zote in June 2019. The Indian team clinched the series after defeating Japan to qualify for Olympics. Lalremsiami was accorded a hero’s welcome when she arrived in her state on June 25 that year.

In 2020, she was named International Hockey Federation (FIH) Women’s Rising Star of the Year to become the first female hockey player from India to win the prestigious award.

Lalremsiami was also named sports ambassador of Mizoram University in July 2019. 

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