Sunita Lakra

Sunita Lakra (born 11 June 1991) is an Indian field hockey player.[1] Lakra has represented her country by being capped in the India women's national field hockey team.[2] Lakra announced her retirement from hockey through Hockey India on 2 January 2020.[3]

Sunita Lakra
Personal information
Born (1991-06-11) 11 June 1991
Rajgangpur, Odisha, India
Height 1.58 m (5 ft 2 in)
Weight 57 kg (126 lb)
Playing position defence
National team
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2009 - present India 155 (2)
Medal record
Women's field hockey
Representing  India
Asian Games
Silver medal – second place2018 JakartaTeam
Bronze medal – third place2014 IncheonTeam
Asia Cup
Gold medal – first place2017 Gifu
Bronze medal – third place2013 Kuala Lumpur
Asian Champions Trophy
Gold medal – first place2016 Singapore
Silver medal – second place2013 Kakamigahara
Silver medal – second place2018 Donghae

Early life

Lakra's father is a farmer. She was sent to join Sports Authority of India (SAI) in Rourkela to learn hockey when she was six years old. In Lakra's community, most girls and boys take up football from an early age, but Lakra's father believed that football was a dangerous sport and trained his daughter in hockey.[4] She married Deepak Toppo who works for Odisa Police Department .[5]

Career

Sunita Lakra made her international debut in 2009, and has since then, cited as the backbone of the team. She was the part of the team in the 17th Asian Games and the Women's Hockey World League Round 2.[6] India's clash against New Zealand in the Hawke's Bay Cup of 2015 marked the 50th international appearance of Lakra.

She plays defense in the team.[7] Lakra completed her 100th international match with a match also against New Zealand in 2017, in the third match of the five match series.[8] Lakra climbed the ladder of ranks in Indian hockey with significant performances at the 17th Asian Games and the 2016 Rio Olympics. She was also the part of the winning Indian side in the Asian Champions Trophy, in which the team won the final match against China. In 2017 August, she was selected to be a part of the India women's national field hockey team's 15-day European tour starting 5 September 2017.[9]

Lakra was handed the responsibility to head the team as a captain in the Asian Champions Trophy women's hockey, which began at Donghae City, Korea in May 2018, and led the team to a second position.[10]

Lakra is a part of the 18 member squad which is playing in the 14th edition of the Women's Hockey World Cup.

References
  1. Sunita, lakra. "Sunita Lakra: Latest News & Videos, Photos about Sunita Lakra | The Economic Times". The Economic Times. The Economic Times. Retrieved 17 May 2017.
  2. Sunita LAKRA. Gold Coast 2018. Retrieved 2 August 2018.
  3. PTI. "Injured India defender Sunita Lakra retires from international hockey". Sportstar. Retrieved 2 January 2020.
  4. Sarkar, Sujata (25 May 2017). "Indian woman hockey player Sunita Lakra idolises former captain Sardar Singh". www.mykhel.com.
  5. Lakra, Sunita (29 December 2018). "Odisha Hockey-player Sunita Lakra ties the knot". Reporters Today. Reporters today.
  6. "Asian Champions Trophy 2018: Indian girls script dream return for Sjoerd Marijne with 4–1 thrashing of Japan". 13 May 2018. Retrieved 28 July 2018.
  7. "Hockey India | Sunita Lakra played her 50th International match against New Zealand yesterday at the Hawke's Bay Cup 2015". hockeyindia.org. Retrieved 28 July 2018.
  8. "Defender Sunita Lakra completes a century". The Hindu. PTI. 17 May 2017. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 28 July 2018.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  9. Desk, Odisha Sun Times Editorial. "Five from Odisha in Indian women's hockey team for Europe trip | OdishaSunTimes.com". Retrieved 26 August 2017.
  10. "Odisha players on cusp of history – Orissa POST". www.orissapost.com. Retrieved 28 July 2018.


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