Lalthantluangi (left) with Miss Batei.

As the Indian women’s hockey team begins its preparations for three major tournaments in the coming months with a four-match series against Argentina at Club Ciudad de Buenos Aires from Monday, one player who will try to impress coach Sord Marin is newcomer Lalthantluangi. The Mizo youth was part of the team that won the Junior Asia Cup in 2024 and participated in the Junior World Cup held in Chile last year. However, her real challenge begins now, as Marin looks to pit the team against the world No. 2 team. “She was hoping to get a call-up during the World Cup qualifiers itself and was heartbroken when she didn’t make the team. But I told her to keep believing and work hard, and she was very happy when she was finally selected,” said Miss B’Tei, Lalthantluangi’s longtime coach. Lalthantluangi, who has also played for Ranchi Royals during the Women’s Hockey India League (HIL), trained under Miss Batey from 2016, when she joined the SAI Hockey Center in Thenzawl, until she made it to the junior national camp in 2024. “We selected her after she competed in the Thenzawl Zone Middle School Sports Meet in 2016. She knew nothing about hockey then and played volleyball and football in her village, but we selected her because her physical attributes were very good,” said the coach, who trains around 40 students at Thenzawl Academy. While Miss Batey can’t wait to see her protégé play for the senior team, she is delighted with how her student Lalremsiami has inspired the newcomer to go even further. The coach further said, “Lalremsiami is a big inspiration for the players of Mizoram. She gives a lot of confidence to the youth and helps them in every possible way.” Naturally, Lalremsiami is eager to play with him. “It is a proud moment for me to have my junior in the team, especially since we both are from Mizoram. I know how hard it is to get to this level and how hard it is to get here,” Argentina’s Lalremsiami said. “As a player, he is very disciplined and it’s good to see his progress.” What’s even more special is how eagerly the academy players are waiting to see Lalthantluangi on the field in national colours. She will be the third player after Lalremsiami and Haniyalum Lalruatfeli to play for the Mizoram national women’s hockey team. “The excitement at the institute is very high as another player from here has got a chance to play at the international level. Other students are also very happy and motivated, they hope to play for the Indian team someday,” he said. As far as Marin is concerned, he is looking forward to seeing individual and team performances against the world No. 2 ranked team. “We are here with 23 players who will get a chance to show themselves. We will use this tour as an opportunity to play with different team combinations and find ways to win,” Marijne said in a statement.