Sushila Chanu is an Indian hockey player. She is the captain of the Indian women’s national hockey team. In 2023, she won the Arjuna Award, India’s second highest sports honor. She and her team won the bronze medal at the 19th Asian Games.
Wiki/Biography
Sushila Chanu Pukhrambam was born on Tuesday, February 25, 1992 in Imphal, Manipur (32 years; as of 2023). Sushila studied at Lilashing Khongnangkhong High School in Imphal, Manipur. She completed her matriculation and twelfth grade from the Madhya Pradesh Board of Secondary Education. She pursued her Bachelor of Arts degree from Free College, Imphal, Manipur. In 2010, Sushila joined the Mumbai division of Central Railway as a senior ticket collector.
appearance
Height (approximately): 5′0″
Weight (approximately): 55kg
Hair color: black
Eye color: black
family
Parents and siblings
Sushila’s father’s name is Pukhrambam Shyamsondar. He is a driver. Her mother’s name is Pukhrambam Ongbi Lata and she is a housewife. Sushila was a middle child. She has a younger brother and an older sister who runs a beauty salon.
Sushila Chanu and her parents
address
Sion Railway Colony, Chunabhatti, Sion, Mumbai, Maharashtra 400022.
Profession
Sushila has been fond of sports since her childhood. She started playing hockey in 2003 at the age of 11. Once, she participated in a local sports event called Yaoshang Sports, and in 2002, her uncle sent her to Post Hockey Academy Manipur (PHAM). National Championship, National Youth Championship. Her performance prompted the Madhya Pradesh Hockey Academy in Gwalior to select her as one of its first batch in 2006. The academy provided her with hockey training and education. In an interview, Sushila talked about how she got into hockey. she says,
In Manipur, there is a five-day sports festival during Holi, where I used to play some sports or other as a child… One day, when I was 11 years old, my uncle told me that I should just focus in hockey. It’s not that I like one game more than another. If he said boxing, I did it, and I never asked him why hockey. Bas bol diya, toh main gayi khelne (He just said that, so I went to play.”
junior career
From 2008 to 2013, Sushila played as a central defender. Her first international match was the Women’s Hockey Junior Asia Cup in Kuala Lumpur in 2008, where the Indian team won the bronze medal. However, she suffered a brief setback in 2009 when she was dropped from the team due to health issues. During this period, Chanu completed his course at the Madhya Pradesh Hockey Academy and joined the Mumbai Central Railway as a junior ticket collector. In 2013, she led the Indian junior team to a bronze medal at the Junior World Cup in Monchengladbach, Germany.
Sushila Chanu (left) after winning the 2013 Junior World Cup
senior career
In 2014, Sushila started her journey with the national senior women’s hockey team. She played an important role in the team’s advancement to the semifinals of the 2014-15 Women’s FIH (International Ice Hockey Federation) Hockey World League in Antwerp, Belgium. In 2016, Sushila was appointed as the captain of the national women’s team to compete in the 2016 Rio Olympics. Sushila led the Indian hockey team to qualify for the Olympics again after 36 years. However, the team was eliminated in the group stage.
Rio 2016 captain Sushila Chanu
Then Sushila suffered a knee injury (anterior cruciate ligament injury). She then took nine months off while undergoing reconstructive knee surgery. Later, Sushila helped the Indian team win the gold medal at the 2017 Women’s Hockey Asia Cup.
Sushila Chanu (right) on the hockey rink
She contributed to India’s success in the FIH Series Finals and the FIH Olympic Qualifiers in Bhubaneswar, India. Additionally, she played an important role in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and was featured in the Indian squad for the 2021 Women’s Asia Cup. Sushila represented India in her 200th international match in the 2021/22 International Hockey Federation Women’s Professional Hockey League, where the Indian team won the Bronze Medal. Additionally, she played a valuable role in Team India’s bronze medal win at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham. In 2022, Sushila participated in all matches of the World Cup held in the Netherlands and Spain. Sushila and the Indian team also won a bronze medal at the 2022 Asian Games in Hangzhou, China. Sushila plays as defender.
Sushila Chanu poses with the bronze medal won by Team India at the 19th Asian Games
Talking about Sushila’s performance, former Indian men’s team captain Viren Lasquinia said:
She’s not the most skilled player, nor the most flamboyant, but she has an impeccable sense of positioning and a very good work ethic. Sushila is the workhorse of the team. She’s the one ready to do the dirty work, sweep, intercept, tackle, get the ball and pass it immediately to her teammates. She may be the most under-the-radar player on the team, but she’s a very important one.
ticket collector job
Sushila found a job in the Mumbai division of Central Railway through sports quota. Since she entered through the sports quota, she only had to work half a day from 8am to 1pm. She was able to take time off to attend training camps and competitions and have access to the Central Rail gym. Speaking about her work in an interview, Sushila said:
When you catch people without tickets, they cry and plead. I thought I would never like that…but the job required it, so it was something I had to do. “
Sushila Chanu is working as a ticket collector
medal
gold
- 2018: The 8th Hockey India Senior Women’s National Championship was held in Ranchi, Jharkhand.
- 2019: The 9th Hockey India Senior Women’s National Championship was held in Hisar, Haryana.
Sushila Chanu poses with the trophy after winning the 9th Indian Senior Women’s Hockey National Championship
bronze
- 2013: Junior World Cup in Monchengladbach, Germany.
- 2022: FIH (International Hockey Federation) Women’s Professional Hockey League 2021/22
- 2022: The XXII Commonwealth Games are held in Birmingham, England.
- 2023: 19th Asian Games, Hangzhou, China.
Congratulations to our school’s women’s hockey team for winning the bronze medal in the Asian Games!
Their resilience, teamwork and passion have brought glory to the country. pic.twitter.com/09OP0u2HDX
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) October 7, 2023
Awards, Honors, Achievements
- In 2021, Hockey India presented the ‘Most Midfield Intercepts’ award to Sushila Chanu.
Sushila Chanu wins bonus for ‘Most Midfield Intercepts’
- Sushila Chanu was awarded the Midfielder of the Year Award at the 5th Annual Hockey India Awards 2022.
- On January 9, 2024, Sushila Chanu received the Arjuna Award from the President of India, Droupadi Murmu; the event was held at the Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Delhi .
Susila Chanu receives the Arjuna Award from President Drupadi Murmu of India at Rashtrapati Bhawan, New Delhi
salary
As of 2016, Sushila’s revenue was Rs. She works as a senior ticket collector and earns $26,000 per month.
Favorites
- Exercise: leg raise
- Dishes: Eromba (Manipuri dish) prepared by her mother
Facts/Trivia
- Susila’s jersey number is No. 27.
Sushila Chanu posing in jersey
- In an interview, Sushila mentioned that she loves watches.
- The player who inspired Sushila was former hockey player Gagan Ajit Singh.
- Sushila has a tattoo of Olympic rings on her bicep with the words “Rio 2016” and “Tokyo 2022” written on them. She said in an interview that she got the idea for the tattoo from an Olympic swimmer who had the same tattoo.
Sushila has a tattoo of Olympic rings on her right bicep
- Sushila loves animals and has a pet cat.
Sushila Chanu and her pet cat
- Sushila follows a non-vegetarian diet.
Photos of enjoying the food shared by Sushila on her Instagram account
Categories: Biography
Source: HIS Education