Jharkhand hockey players receive homecoming celebration in Ranchi

Four members of India’s gold medal-winning women’s hockey team received a celebratory homecoming at Birsa Munda Airport in Ranchi on Sunday. The players, including captain Salima Tete and teammates Nikki Pradhan, Beauty Dungdung, and Deepika Soreng, arrived via Bengaluru from Japan.

Supporters, officials from Hockey Jharkhand, coaches, and family members gathered at the airport to welcome the athletes with drums, garlands, and bouquets. The homecoming follows the Indian women’s hockey team’s victory over China with a 1-0 score in the Asian Games final, marking the country’s first gold medal in the event in 44 years.

The players were honored by crowds chanting slogans and raising hockey sticks in respect. Emotional reunions between the athletes and their parents were a central part of the celebrations at the airport.