1/ “Years of hard work have paid off,” a beaming #GurjitKaur told the media after hitting the winning goal against Australia in the quarter-finals at #TokyoOlympics.

Drag flicker Gurjit was born in a farmer’s family in Miadi Kalan in Amritsar.
2/ She and her sister spent most of years in her village, where she didn’t know even know what hockey was, let alone playing the sport.
It was only when she moved to a boarding school 70 km away that she was first introduced to hockey.
3/ Gurjit knew nothing about the game, so she would spend the whole day watching the other girls play. This is what made her want to excel at the game.
Hockey soon became her passion.
4/ In the Olympics quarter-final against World No 4, it was Gurjit who rose to the occasion and converted India’s lone penalty corner in the 22nd minute to surprise the confident Australians. #WomenInBlue #HockeyIndia

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More from @thebetterindia

3 Aug
#DidYouKnow #HockeyIndia #TokyoOlympics
1/ Odisha's Sundergarh district is known as the 'Cradle of Indian Hockey' - it has produced 5 national captains and over 60 international players.
2/ The home of Deep Grace Ekka (the vice-captain of the Indian women's hockey team), Sundargarh is arguably the most important centre of Indian hockey, producing five national team captains — Dilip Tirkey, Ignace Tirkey and Prabodh Tirkey, Subhadra Pradhan and Jyoti Sunita Kulu.
3/ It has also produced more than 60 international hockey players including Olympians Lazarus Barla, William Xalco, Birendra Lakra and Sunita Lakra.
Read 5 tweets
3 Aug
1/ From practicing with broken hockey sticks to leading the Indian women's hockey team in a historic triumph at #TokyoOlympics, #RaniRampal has come a long way.

Rani’s mother worked as a domestic help, her father was a cart-puller who earned around Rs 80 a day.
2/ Inspired by the players she would see at a nearby hockey academy, she too decided to take up the sport. However, her father could not afford to buy her a hockey stick, so she practiced with a broken one.
3/ In an exclusive interview with The Better India, she said, “I grew up in a place where young women and girls were restricted to the four walls of their home. So, when I expressed my wish to play hockey, neither my parents nor my relatives supported me..."
Read 5 tweets
3 Aug
1/ This is Savita "The Wall" Punia. She managed to save all the nine shots directed at her by world no. 2 Australia, a mighty unbeaten opponent.

And that's how Savita's heroics helped India stun Australia 1-0 to reach their first-ever Olympics semi-finals.
2/ Yet few know that, as a young girl, Savita used to travel 30 km six times every week from her village (Jodhkan) to Maharaja Agrasain Girls Senior Secondary School in Sirsa to hone her hockey skills.
3/ This school was the only place around her village that had hockey coaches as well as training infrastructure. Interestingly, before Savita, no one in her family had ever taken up any sport as a career.
Read 4 tweets
3 Aug
In the olden days, it was a common custom for shopkeepers to keep a small chair outside the shop as soon as they opened the shop in the morning.

As soon as the first customer would arrive, the shopkeeper would lift the chair from that place and take it inside the shop. (1/6)
But when the next customer would come, the shopkeeper would look around the market. Pointing to a shop with a chair still placed outside, he would say to the customer. (2/6)
"You will get what you need from that shop." I have already got my bohni (the day's first business) in the morning."

This was because having a chair outside the shop was a sign that the shopkeeper had not received any customers yet. (3/6)
Read 6 tweets
3 Aug
#Odisha's beautiful Krushi Bhavan won the People's Choice Winner at the prestigious AZ Award 2020 in the Social Good category. (1/7)
Located in Bhubaneswar, the structure was designed by Studio Lotus and has been inspired by the farmers of Odisha. Here are some interesting features: (2/7)
> Over 100 highly-skilled artisans have created a vibrant and contemporary narrative of traditional Odia craft at Krushi Bhavan, depicting agricultural folklore and mythological stories. (3/7)
Read 7 tweets
2 Aug
Portraits of the Rabari, India's wandering tribe famous for their bulky turbans and familiarity with all things camel -- clicked by Natty Singh. (1/5)
The Rabari, a tribal caste of semi-nomadic cattle herders and shepherds, are believed to have migrated to Rajasthan from Iran via Afghanistan a thousand years ago. The main occupation of this tribe is to raise cattle, camels and goats. (2/5)
To ensure pasture for their herds, they wander from one place to another, chasing seasonal rains. But this ancient way of life is changing. (3/5)
Read 5 tweets

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