At just 10, Lalremsiami had barely heard of hockey. A school playground in Kolasib, Mizoram, changed that. A teacher noticed her talent, and soon she was playing her first inter-school tournament winning the Best Hockey Player award and ₹500. A year later, she left home for the government hockey academy in Thenzawl.
It wasn’t an easy beginning. Lalremsiami came from a large family whose primary income came from farming. Even the question of whether she could afford to join the academy was real. Her mother remembers asking if the training was free because the family simply could not afford a regular fee. Later, when Lalremsiami moved to Delhi’s National Hockey Academy in 2016, the distance, language and financial challenges made the transition even harder.
By 2017, the girl from Mizoram had made her senior India debut. Within months, she was part of India’s Asia Cup-winning team. In 2018 came a silver at the Asian Games and another silver at the Youth Olympics, while she also became the youngest Indian player at that year’s World Cup.
Then came 2019 ; and the hardest moment of her young life. During the FIH Series Finals in Japan, Lalremsiami received the news that her father, Lalthansanga Zote, had died of a heart attack. India was preparing for a crucial semi-final against Chile. Her coach gave her the choice to return home. She chose to stay.
The next day, she walked onto the field and helped India win the match. India eventually won the tournament and secured qualification for the Tokyo Olympics. She later said she wanted to stay and play because she wanted to make her father prpud , That same year, she was named FIH.
Rising Star of the Year
In 2021, she fulfilled the promise she had once made to her father: she played at the Tokyo Olympics, where India’s women’s team reached the Olympic semifinals for the first time and finished fourth. She has since added medals at the 2022 Commonwealth Games and Asian Games, and golds at the 2023 and 2024 Asian Champions Trophy. Hockey India currently lists her with 187 international caps and 46 goals.
And now, in 2026, another chapter has arrived. Lalremsiami has been selected for the Arjuna Award 2025, becoming the first sportsperson from Mizoram to receive the honour. The announcement came while she was continuing to represent India at the World Cup.
For a girl who once left a farming family in Mizoram with a hockey stick and a promise that seemed almost too big to believe, the Arjuna Award is not the beginning of her story.
It is one more moment in a journey that began with ₹500, a school playground and a dream her father once thought was too big, but ultimately helped her chase.
