Young hockey player Sanjana Dungdung aspires to play in the Olympics

Young hockey player Sanjana Dungdung said that she was inspired to play the game after she watched Shah Rukh Khan-starrer Chak de India, which was released back in 2007.

Sanjana, who is the captain of her school team and plays as a midfielder, said that after seeing the Bollywood movie, she wanted to take up hockey as a profession.

Sanjana, who hails from Jharkhand’s Simdega district, talked about her aspirations to play in the Nationals and represent the country in the Olympics going ahead in her career.

Dungdung spoke about her dreams and aspirations at the India Today Conclave’s session, ‘Banega to Badhega Bharat’ on Saturday, March 16.

“I liked the movie very much. I have been playing hockey since 2017 and after seeing them, I aspired to play in the Nationals and then take part in the Olympics, making our country proud,” Dungdung was quoted as saying during the event.

---

Sanjana Dungdung reveals family struggles

Sanjana also praised her parents for working hard. Even as her mother is a house help, her father toils hard as a farmer.

“Mother works as house help and she stays in Mumbai. My father is a farmer and he works hard as well,” she added.

At the Conclave, Sanjana was accompanied by IAS Officer Abhishek Pandey, Manoj Konbegi, the vice president of Hockey Jharkhand, and entrepreneurs Annu Kanwar Kanawat and Gaurab Kumar Das.

Konbegi talked about the growth of hockey in Jharkhand and the construction of the Astro Turf Hockey Stadium. He said that it was only after a player highlighted its importance that the stadium was built.

“Girls from Simdega went to play the Jawaharlal Nehru Hockey Tournament in Delhi. They went to the finals but lost to Haryana. After the girls’ team returned to Simdega, they were welcomed with dhols. However, the girls were sad that they lost the final match,” Konbegi said.

​