New Delhi: Watching fellow drag-flicker Deepika Sehrawat punch in goal-after-goal to score five, Manisha Chauhan didn’t want to be left behind. In the last five minutes of the round robin clash against Thailand, the 25-year-old also sounded the board twice to help the Indian women’s hockey team win 13-0 in Rajgir on Friday.
The two goals were also the first of Manisha’s career, playing in only her fifth international for India. Even though the goals came against world No.29 Thailand – the lowest ranked team in the Asian Champions Trophy – they were a tremendous boost to the midfielder’s confidence, who made her debut in May.
Central to chief coach Harendra Singh’s plan of building a sturdy group of drag-flickers with the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics in mind, Manisha is currently being seen as the team’s second battery after Deepika in penalty corners (PC).
Hailing from Uttarakhand, Manisha’s strengths are drag-flicks and aerial balls which saw her rise quickly up the ladder in the domestic circuit. “I also play in the midfield which makes my passing skills and tackling in defence very important,” says Manisha.
Her interest in hockey began when she was studying in class five of Haridwar’s Shri Ram Vidya Mandir School. Back then she would play football, handball and had also won state-level medals in athletics events like long jump and shot put. Noticing her speed and athleticism, the school coach asked her if she wanted to try hockey. She promptly agreed.
There was no looking back for Manisha as she started performing with the stick in school competitions almost right away, winning the ‘Best Player’ title in Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) Nationals.
It was during this period that Manisha’s coach Balwinder Singh realised the youngster had it in her to become a good drag-flicker. “My coach told me that drag-flickers are in demand in modern hockey and I had the ability, strength, height and power to become a good one,” says Manisha, who went to Delhi SG Pipers for ₹12.5 lakh at the recent Hockey India League (HIL) auctions.
In the absence of artificial turfs at both school and nearby areas, Balwinder found a ‘jugaad’ in a cricket mat, on which he made Manisha practice her flicks and scoops. By the time she began playing at the junior national level, Manisha was already far ahead of her competitors, who had still not mastered the art of flicking on artificial turf.
“Practice is the only way to master drag-flicks. Even now, I spend extra time before and after practice—at least 25 flicks to perfect my angular shots. I practice flicks after training, when I’m tired, because it helps with core strengthening.”
Manisha was rewarded for her consistent scoring as a key player of the Uttarakhand junior team by being named captain in 2016. It helped her earn a call-up from the junior national camp. But once she reached Bengaluru, Manisha realised that only drag-flicks alone were not going to see her through. She needed to work on her overall game and skills if she wanted to make the Indian team.
Manisha lost her spot in the camp in 2018, never again representing the India juniors. Undeterred, she continued to work on her skills and returned to the grind, playing in domestic tournaments. A year later, she was selected for the National Centre of Excellence in the national capital for her performance in Khelo India.
She captained the Sports Authority of India (SAI) team to the final of the 2021 Inter-Departmental Nationals, where she also won the ‘Best Midfielder of the Tournament’ award. In 2023, during the Senior Nationals, Manisha represented Manipur, the state where she was born.
Her stellar performance earned her a spot in the senior national camp for the first time at the start of this year. Within a month, she was chosen by Harendra to partner Deepika in the PC battery before making her debut against Argentina in the Pro League.
The Chauhan household went through a transition in May when Manisha’s father retired from the Border Security Force (BSF), while the 25-year-old was named in India’s squad for the Belgium and England Pro League tour.
“I’ve always dreamt of this moment—walking onto the pitch wearing the blue India jersey—ever since I started playing hockey. The coaching and support staff have put their trust in me, and now it’s on me to repay their faith,” she says.
Manisha’s skills will be put to the test on Saturday when India faces Olympic silver medallists China, who, despite travelling to India with only two players from their Paris Olympics side, will still be a force to reckon with.
