Goalkeeper Savita Punia on Monday became only the second Indian hockey player to feature in 300 international matches when the Salima Tete-led team took on the Netherlands in the FIH Pro League 2024-25 at the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar.
Savita, a three-time FIH Goalkeeper Of The Year, joined Vandana Katariya (317 matches) in the exclusive club of Indian women with more than 300 appearances.
Savita made her international debut in 2009 at the Spar Cup Four Nations Tournament in Durban, South Africa, and played a pivotal role in India’s bronze-medal finish at the 2013 Women’s Asia Cup.
Savita was instrumental in India’s return to the Olympics after 36 years at Rio 2016. Her standout performances earned her the ‘Goalkeeper of the Tournament’ title at the 2017 FIH Women’s World League Round 2. That same year, she helped India secure the Women’s Asia Cup, ending a 13-year wait.
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She continued to shine, anchoring the team’s silver-medal finishes at the 2018 Asian Games and the Women’s Asian Champions Trophy.
Honoured with the Arjuna Award in 2018, Savita also played a key role as vice-captain in India’s historic fourth-place finish at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.
In the absence of the injured Rani Rampal, Savita took over the captaincy in 2022. Under her leadership, the team won the FIH Women’s Nations Cup 2022 and the Asian Champions Trophy 2023, while also claiming bronze medals at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham and the Hangzhou Asian Games.
However, Tete replaced her as captain after the team failed to qualify for the Paris Olympics.
