Enormity of the Comeback Task: Indian Fullback Gurjit Kaur

There is no denying the fact that there is fierce competition for places in the Indian women’s hockey team. The Harendra Singh-coach Indian eves are building a strong unit keeping in mind the larger focus on the 2026 World Cup, 2026 Asian Games, and of course, the big one – 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. One player who would be determined to mount a national comeback is experienced defender and drag-flicker Gurjit Kaur. The 29-year-old Punjab lass had last appeared for the Blueskirts against Australia at the 2024 Pro League tie against Australia at Bhubaneshwar, which India lost 0-3. Subsequently, she did not feature in any of the Pro Leagues played in India as well in Antwerp and London.

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Clearly, the Indian women’s team faring well in the drag-flicking department in the Asian Champions Trophy with the likes of Deepika young drag-flickers Sehrawat and Manisha Chauhan giving a good account of themselves, the ‘comeback task’ has become even more tougher for Gurjit, who has been a regular member of the national team up until mid-2023.

It is interesting to observe that Gurjit, who is employed with Indian Railways, was axed following the 2023 Australia Test Series, and was overlooked for the 2023 Asian Champions Trophy and 2023 Asian Games. She did make a comeback for the 2023 Five Nation Tourney in Valencia but was again dropped for the 2024 Olympic Qualifiers. Not just drag-flicking competition, Gurjit has to improve her defending skills and can’t afford to rely only on her drag-flicking prowess to get into the national fold. The young duo of Vaishnavi Phalke and Ishika Chaudhary alongside Udita Duhan and Nikki Pradhan are doing a decent job in the deep defence.

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Gurjit rose to prominence at the 2017 Asia Cup, scoring 8 goals. She famously scored India’s match-winner in the 1-0 quarterfinal upset win over Australia at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics and was also India’s top goal-scorer at the 2021-22 Pro League. Gurjit was also named FIH Women Player of the Year in 2021. She has played in two Commonwealth Games (2018 and 2022 editions), two World Cups (2018 and 2022 editions), two Asian Champions Trophy (2018 and 2021 editions), one Asian Games (2018) and two Asia Cups (2017 and 2022 editions).

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Gurjit made her senior international debut during a six Test series against Malaysia at Kuala Lumpur in June 2014 – interestingly, the tall fullback scored her maiden international goal in the first Test in India’s 5-0 victory. Indian women’s team coach Harendra Singh is crystal clear on how Gurjit can stage a national comeback. “I was in Pune for the senior national where Gurjit was playing for the Indian Railways. She is a good drag-flicker and drag-flicking is a specialised skill. She needs to improve on the other skills like tackling, scoring, passing, and essaying the aerial ball. I had a pep talk with her at Pune on areas she need to work and have given her a training schedule as well,” he says.

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The Indian coach said comeback doors are always open for any player. “Gurjit can leverage the domestic tournaments to upgrade her game and think of how she can contribute beyond the deep defence. I would be happy to see her back as a much improved player,” he makes his point.

One hopes that Gurjit would do the required hard yards and force her way into the national fold ahead of the 2024-25 Pro League.