In a recent development, young Indian striker Lalremsiami has dedicated the FIH Rising Star of the Year 2019 Award to her late father. She also hoped that the honour will serve as a great source of inspiration for the forthcoming Tokyo Olympics.
“I had a mixed year in 2019, and it was a huge personal loss for me when I lost my father. He always motivated me to do well, and I am sure he would be giving his blessings from above. I would like to dedicate this award to him,” Lalremsiami said as quoted by IANS.
“The award obviously serves as a great motivation for the upcoming Olympics, and gives me more confidence and belief to go on and do my best for the team for years to come,” she added.
Notably, when the Indian team was preparing to take on Chile in their semi-final match of the FIH Series Finals in 2019 in Hiroshima, Lalremsiami received the tragic news from her home that her father Lalthansanga Zote had passed away due to a heart attack.
Despite the news, the 19-year-old striker told her coach Sjoerd Marijne that she would be playing the match on the next day. She even played a vital role in helping India seize the Olympic berth.
Laremsiami also went on record stating that she considers her senior national teammate Rani Rampal as her role model and the fact that she received the award from her served as the icing on the cake.
“I was visiting Delhi to meet my sister, so Rani di told me she will pick me up from the airport. But when I came outside, I was given a wonderful surprise by Rani di and Hockey India’s CEO Elena Norman along with the staff,” she said.
“I wasn’t expecting to win the award because there were some great players nominated for it, but when I received the trophy from my role model and saw my name on the poster at the airport, it made me really happy,” she concluded.
(With inputs from IANS)