The Indian Junior Women’s hockey team had a sensational run at the Junior World Cup until they were defeated by England in the third/fourth decider. The regulation time ended with a 2-2 scoreline but the Brits held their nerve way better than their Indian counterparts and won the penalty shootout to grab the third position.

Bichu Devi, who was India’s goalkeeper and star performer at the event along with the defenders, feels that the disappointment from the World Cup is behind them as the senior players and the coach consoled them and told them to look at the positive learning from the global event.

“We were all very upset after that match and some of us could not stop crying. We were so close to standing on the podium and it was quite hard to accept the defeat,” said Bichu reminiscing the moment when England sneaked past India at the shootout.

But with the national camp, the youngsters got the support of their seniors as they told them to move on from the disappointments and embrace the learning from the quadrennial event. Indian Women’s team head coach Janneke Schopman also spoke to the youngsters and told them to cheer up and improve on their areas of weakness.

“We have moved on. The senior players spoke to us after that match and even Chief Coach Janneke (Schopman) gave us a talk on how it’s important to now move on and focus on the positive learnings from that tournament,” the young custodian added.

Bichu Devi was overwhelmed with the love and support from the fans as she highlighted how the people were proud of their performance on returning back in India. Some fans even messaged them on social media and that made them feel good and move on from the disappointment.

“We also received so much love after we came back and many hockey fans messaged us personally and told us how we have to keep our chins up. It is very overwhelming to receive this kind of reaction despite losing the medal. This motivates us more to do well,” she added.

Devi along with some of her teammates including Junior Women’s Vice-Captain Ishika Chaudhary, Akshata Abaso Dhekale, and Sangita Kumari have been selected for the Senior core of players as a reward for their strong performance at the Junior World Cup. The Indian Eves are at the top of the FIH Hockey Pro League standings and now are preparing for their next set of Pro League matches in Europe followed by the Women’s World Cup in Spain and the Netherlands.