The 16 years old scored four goals for the Jammu and Kashmir team in the just concluded sub-junior national hockey championships in Ranchi.
The 16 years old Akshra Dutta from Poonch region of Jammu & Kashmir has been drafted into the U-18 national coaching camp in Bhopal.
She was spotted during the just concluded sub junior national competition in Ranchi, Jharkhand. The 16 years old was a mainstay of her team’s forward line and scored four goals in the national meet. She was second-highest goal scorer in Division C and played a key role in Jammu and Kashmir graduating to Division ‘B’ for the next season.
Opportunities for excelling in sports are not as good as they should have been in her area. Nonetheless hard work and parents’ support enabled her to give her best at the national meet. According to Hockey India, her father Santosh Kumar Dutta was a gymnast and guided her to take up physical activities when she was in school. “When I was around seven my father took me to the ground and I picked up a hockey stick. Thereafter I’ve been playing regularly,” the 16 years old hockey player from Poonch said.
She played her first national age group competition in 2022 but wasn’t able to avail opportunities to score goals. This year she was better prepared and delivered when it mattered the most.
EOM
