BHOPAL: At a national camp in the city, 15-year-old Nosheen Naaz is training with multiple-kit prospects. Naz borrows gear. His father Ahfaz Khan, who earns around Rs 250 a day on a daily wage, cannot buy him a proper hockey stick. No cut. No safety net.But the girl from Seoni in Madhya Pradesh is India’s most promising future in women’s hockey, joining the Under-18 Asia Cup squad for Japan from May 29.Go beyond limits with our YouTube channel. Subscribe now!Four years ago, his journey began in a cramped, roofless rented shack in Seoni, about 380 km southeast of Bhopal. A discarded, broken hockey stick became his tool. “Without complaining, she tied it with cloth, tied it again when it broke, and kept playing,” said Khan, 48.
Naushin’s only goal: to play for India
Success came in 2023 when the MP Hockey Academy saw it. Training, food, equipment – after all. “The academy has been his lifeline, providing the equipment and training that I couldn’t,” his father said.Dreams quickly turned into numbers. At the 16th Sub-Junior Women’s National Championship in Bihar’s Rajgir earlier this month, Naaz tore through the defense — nine goals, top scorer, man of the final. Khan saw, overwhelmed.He said that I am shedding tears after seeing him today. Once insecure about her pursuits due to poverty, she now stands strong against societal pressures on her training attire. “If anyone stops my daughter, they will confront me first.”Naz is one of seven siblings. Hunger, space, and money remain daily constraints. Yet talent and dedication keep the door open to compulsion. His younger sister Subrica has joined the academy after talent hunts.India’s hockey story has long drawn strength from small towns and tough grounds. From dusty fields to national camps, many of its best have risen from humble homes where sport competes with survival. Naz fits that lineage—raw, unbridled, unenfranchised. “I have only one goal: to play for the country,” he said, eyes fixed on him. Asia Cup.
