Epitomizing Resilience: Indian Forward Preeti Dubey
It’s not often in Indian women’s hockey that you see a player mark a comeback to the national fold after being consigned to the wilderness for seven years. Indian forward Preeti Dubey is of a rare kind – she wears resilience on her sleeves at all times, and it explains why she rebounded into national reckoning during the 2023-24 Pro League Europe leg at Antwerp and London. She last wore the national jersey at the 2017 Hockey World League Semifinal at Johannesburg.
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In a side packed with experienced forwards such as Vandana Katariya and Navneet Kaur as well as precociously talented youngsters like Mumtaz Khan, Sangita Kumari, Deepika Sehrawat, Sunelita Toppo, Preeti did not let the ‘comeback nerves’ get the better of her as she made her presence and vindicated the trust reposed in her by coach Harendra Singh. Although the Indian women lost all their games at Antwerp and London, Preeti made a big impact – her comeback appeared comeback in the 8th Asian Champions Trophy at Rajgir, where she played her part in the forwardline that was conspicuous by the absence of seasoned Vandana Katariya.
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Th- 26-year-old Gorakhpur girl used to be very good in long-distance running and participated in marathons at the school level – it was around this time a sports observer seeing her athletic body, suggested her to take up hockey and like they say, there is no looking back. The Indian Railways-employed player had enrolled at Gwalior-based Madhya Pradesh Hockey Academy (MPHA) and honed her skills under coach Paramajeet Singh.
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Preeti made her senior international debut at the 2016 South Asian Games at Guwahati, where the Indian eves cornered – she also part of the 2016 Asian Champions winning Indian team – as a 18-year-old she represented India at the 2016 Rio Olympics – it was Indian women’s first Olympic appearance in 36 years.
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A string of solid performances at the domestic circuit worked to a nicety for Preeti – she played her part in Madhya Pradesh reaching the semfinals of the 2024 Senior Nationals at Pune, winning the crown at the 2023 National Games at Goa as well as 2023 Senior Nationals at Kakinada. “Seven years is a long time in hockey – I always told Preeti to never give up no matter what. Although she is employed with Railways, she continued to represent Madhya Pradesh at the nationals and that helped catch the attention of national selectors and coaches,” says MPHA women’s coach Paramjeet Singh in a chat with Hockey Passion.
Singh says Preeti’s long-distance running background has made it ideal for her to tune in to the high-speed running modern hockey is all about. “Preeti has been training under me since 2016 at the MPHA. She was with us when she played for the country at the 2016 Rio Olympics. Preeti is very athletic and can hustle the opposition with her speed,” quips Singh.
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The much-respected MPHA women’s coach believes Preeti has everything going for her. “Look, when she made her India debut, she was probably not ready because she was 17 or 18. She is in the best form of her playing career and I have no doubts that she would go places with the national team,” he opines.
One hopes that Preeti would reinforce her playing credentials in the 2024-25 Pro League among other upcoming international tournaments.
