Mungyeong (Korea), March 24 (Representative) Indian Women’s Hockey Team midfielder Salima Tete was honoured with the AHF Emerging Player of the Year Award for her spectacular performance in the year 2022 on Friday. The 20-year-old was presented with the award at the Asian Hockey Federation’s Annual General Meeting that took place in Korea. Speaking on the honour, Salima expressed gratitude to the Asian Hockey Federation and also praised her team members for their constant support. “I sincerely thank the Asian Hockey Federation for recognising the hard work that we have done on the ground over the years,” Salima said. “But this journey would not have been possible without the constant support that I have received from my teammates and the coaching staff who have always given me the confidence to play according to my strengths and have given me the freedom to express myself. I hope to continue to perform in a similar fashion in the years to come” she added.
Salima has been an integral part of the Indian team set-up over the past couple of years and was named the Rising Player of the Tournament at the Women’s Asia Cup 2022 tournament that took place in Muscat in January last year. She made her debut for the Senior Women’s Team in the year 2016 in the Test series against Australia, before helping the Indian Women’s Junior Hockey Team win a Silver medal at the 3rd Youth Olympic Games 2018, Buenos Aires, Argentina. Salima was part of the Indian Senior Women’s Hockey Team that finished in the fourth position at the Tokyo Olympics and then went on to be a part of the FIH Hockey Women’s Junior World Cup 2021, Potchefstroom, South Africa team that also attained the 4th position. The midfielder also played a key role for the Indian team that attained a third-place finish in the FIH Women’s Hockey Pro League 2021/22 before helping the Indian team clinched the Bronze medal at the Commonwealth Games 2022 in Birmingham.
Salima was also a crucial member of the Indian team that won the Gold medal at the FIH Hockey Women’s Nations Cup Spain 2022. Hockey India President, Padma Shri Dr Dilip Tirkey also congratulated the young midfielder for the award and thanked her for her contribution to Indian Hockey. “I congratulate Salima Tete for being honoured with this award. It always gives me immense pleasure to see our Indian players getting the recognition they deserve on the global stage. She has been an asset to the Indian team for the past couple of years now, despite being one of the youngest members of the team. We are confident that she will continue to soar even higher in the years to come,” he said. Hockey India Secretary General Bhola Nath Singh also praised Salima for her achievement. “It is always a special moment for us at Hockey India when one of our players receives awards for their hard work. Salima Tete has been a special player and we are truly delighted to see her achieve success and get recognition on such a grand stage. I congratulate her for receiving the honour and hope to see her add more feathers to her caps in the years to come,” he added.