The Indian women’s hockey team, which brought laurels to the country by clinching the gold medal after defeating reigning Asian champions China at the Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya, also ended a 44-year drought for an Asian Games medal. Four players from Sonepat, Haryana, were part of the gold-medal-winning team.The four players of the Indian women’s hockey team—Neha Goyal, Sakshi Rana, Shilpi Dabas and Jyoti—are products of the academy run by former Indian team captain and Commonwealth Games gold medallist Pritam Siwach in the Industrial Area of Sonepat city. They began playing hockey at an early age of 10–11.Jyoti and Shilpi Dabas played as defenders, while Neha and Sakshi Rana played as midfielders for the Indian women’s hockey team.“We have been training these players from childhood on the ground and have developed them into quality players for the Indian team,” said Pritam Siwach, expressing her excitement over the women’s hockey team’s performance at the Asian Games 2026.“It is a matter of pride that four girls—Jyoti, Shilpi, Neha and Sakshi—who are members of the Indian team are from the Sonepat academy. They have brought laurels to the academy as well as to the district, state and country by clinching the gold medal at the Asian Games, which had been a big dream for the country for the last 44 years,” Pritam said.4 Sonepat girls, one golden dreamBorn in 1996, Neha Goyal is an experienced player who comes from a very poor family. Neha overcame a “toxic” atmosphere at home during her childhood to achieve success. Arjuna Awardee Pritam Siwach spotted her when she was just nine years old and began training her on the ground.Dharmender Gupta, Neha’s brother-in-law and the husband of her elder sister, Monika, said that Neha reached this level after facing intense struggles and hardships in life. “All the family members are very happy that Team India has won the gold medal,” he said.Similarly, the financial conditions of Sakshi Rana and Jyoti were also not good, but both remained dedicated to the sport, said Pritam Siwach.Sakshi Rana’s father and mother ran a canteen near Tika Ram Girls’ College and made every effort to help their daughter become an international-level player.Jyoti’s father died when she was very young, and her mother also died last year. Despite these hardships, Jyoti continued to work hard on the ground and has now reached the international level, Pritam added.Shilpi Dabas inherited her hockey talent from her father, Anil Dabas, who is also a hockey player. She joined the academy at the age of 10–11 and continued her training there, Pritam Siwach said.“Today is my birthday, and when the four players were heading out to compete, they asked me, ‘Madam, what should we bring for you?’ I simply told them to bring back a gold medal—and today, they have gifted me an Asian gold medal on my birthday,” said Pritam Siwach, who celebrated Team India’s victory and her birthday at the ground.