On Wednesday in Rajgir, as India lifted the Women’s Asian Champions Trophy, the solitary goal came from Deepika. When she was a kid, her father used to take her along to the wrestling centre in Hisar, where her brother trained. Though from a family of wrestlers, originally from a village near Rohtak, Deepika’s heart was never set on wrestling. One day, she went out of the centre and happened to watch hockey. There, hockey coach Azad Singh Malik, who used to train Savita Punia and Sonika, noticed a girl engrossed in the sport.

“The first day I saw her, she was sitting attentively and watching us,” Malik told The Indian Express. “She came the next day and sat for a long time, as long as her brother used to practise inside. She was completely engrossed. I told the senior girls ‘if she comes tomorrow too, then bring her to me. It means that she has a lot of interest in playing hockey, junoon sa lag raha hai mere ko.’ Of course, she came. I asked if she wanted to play. She said yes. I gave her a stick and she never stopped coming to the ground.”

Fast forward 12 years. Deepika – now 20 – lit up the Women’s Asian Champions Trophy in Rajgir, Bihar. She emerged as India’s primary source of goals as they enter a new Olympic cycle. She finished tournament as the leading scorer with 11 goals, including the all important strike in the final.

Her love for hockey was instant. “I started liking it right away,” Deepika told this daily. “No one in my family plays hockey and they wanted to pick up an individual sport. But I refused saying I wanted to play a team sport. I didn’t like wrestling. I was scared (laughs). I feared my ears would break.”

Deepika is a unique case, not just in the women’s version. The best drag flickers are often defenders, because they are naturally built heavier. Strength is a priority over speed and agility. She is, however, a forward who drag flicks. “Around the end of 2017, coach Azad introduced me to drag flicks. I naturally had strength, and India didn’t have many drag flickers. There was only Guri di (Gurjit) so he felt I could benefit from this long-term. Because of my wrestling background, woh power toh hamaari khandaan mein hi hain (laughs),” she said.

Her unique skills gained attention in the domestic circuit. When she came to the camp, Deepika was just aware of the drag flickers in the Indian setup but with help of former coach Janneke Schopman, she familiarised herself with the likes of Yibbi Jansen of the Netherlands. “Deepika is a very good drag-flicker and is still young,” Schopman said before the Olympic qualifiers earlier this year. “Her drag-flick threat is something even coaches in Spain and other teams, who are not here, are talking about. Teams know we have a threat.”

The Olympic qualifiers in Ranchi, however, didn’t go to plan. There was pressure on her strong but inexperienced shoulders, as she was India’s only recognised drag flicker. She struggled as India missed their ticket to Paris. Morale was hit, but she credited her teammates and family for propping her back up. “It was a low point but the senior players and my parents helped me understand that I have a lot of playing years ahead of me. Life abhi shuru hui hai,” she said.

“She is just about to turn 21 and she can be a lethal, world-class striker,” coach Harendra Singh said. “Not only field goals, I am really working on her drag flicks. She is already scoring but he can get better. I am not putting any pressure, but she has a bright future. After the Pro League, I had a one-on-one meeting with her. I told her I am going to make you one of the best strikers, but for that we have to work a lot. She is getting a lot of confidence from this tournament.”

Harendra has been working on Deepika’s footwork and flicking technique. She acknowledged it has improved the power in her strikes. While she has natural upper-body strength, the support staff is working on improving the power in her legs. More importantly, when she was outside the team for a year in 2022-’23, she had to get better at defensive work, something Vandana Katariya and Schopman helped her with.

In Rajgir, she has become a fan favorite. Posters (a sample: ‘Deepika on fire, China ab retire’) are aplenty in the stands, especially after her five-goal performance against Thailand. “Yeah, I saw those. I have clicked a few photos as well with some of the fans. It feels really good, you know? Seeing such things for the first time, and it just gives me a lot of confidence and motivation to get better.”

The dream for Deepika is to repay her parents’ struggles. Stories of girl children being discouraged from taking up sports is common but her father never let it affect her. “He never let me see the tough times,” Deepika recalled. “I used to see how dad brought us food and stuff from far away on his bicycle. Mother also struggled a lot, just to feed a female athlete like me. My dream is to give my parents the best benefits in life. They have seen poverty. I will take them to such a level that they will feel proud of me. That’s all I want to play for.”