Savita Punia Appeals to PM Modi to Save Women's Hockey India League
· Sports · Times of India, Sportstar
Hours after India finished fifth at the Women's Hockey World Cup in Amstelveen on Thursday — their best result in 52 years, capped by a 3-1 win over world No. 5 Germany — former captain and goalkeeper Savita Punia took to X tagging Prime Minister Narendra Modi, sports minister Mansukh Mandaviya, and others, urging the government to help save the Women's Hockey India League (WHIL). She wrote that "the league that built these players needs support to survive" and asked for a "word from you could change its fate." India captain Savita also tagged Shah Rukh Khan, Priyanka Chopra, Ananya Birla, Nita Ambani and Reliance Foundation for visibility and sponsorship, while thanking Parth Jindal, JSW, the Delhi Pipers and Bengal Tigers for past backing. India's fifth-place finish surpassed all World Cup results since 1974, when they placed fourth.
Why it matters
The WHIL is the main domestic pipeline producing the players who just delivered India's best World Cup in 52 years; if it folds, the talent funnel feeding the national team for the 2028 and 2032 Olympics dries up, and grassroots-to-elite development for Indian women hockey players stalls.
Read the original report — Times of India
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