From stumbling into hockey after missing a football trial to becoming India’s World Cup goalkeeper, Bichu Devi’s journey has been defined by adaptability. As she gears up for her second World Cup, the 26-year-old is drawing on a lesson she picked up from her sporting idol Mahendra Singh Dhoni. Stay calm when the pressure mounts. Bichu believes composure is the key to making the right decisions in high-pressure situations, a quality she admires in the former India captain. “Just like Dhoni maintains his calm under pressure, I strive to do the same. I believe that victory lies beyond fear. No matter how much pressure I face, I will remain calm,” Bichu told PTI in an interview.
Dhoni’s meteoric rise from eastern India industrial town of Ranchi to become India’s greatest-ever captain, has struck a chord with the Manipuri, who has followed his journey closely.
“When his film released, I watched it repeatedly. He has seen so much struggle in life and reached such heights, he is truly a great inspiration,” she said.
For Bichu, however, Dhoni’s influence goes beyond admiration and has become a practical approach to handling pressure on the field.
“The most important thing is to stay calm. Whatever the situation is, I have to control my emotions and make the right decision. That is something I have learned from watching Dhoni,” she said.
On the tourney front, Indian women’s team’s opening World Cup fixture against China on June 16 will certainly test its temperament on a grand stage.
Bichu feels the team does not need to complicate matters after months of preparation.
“We are concentrating on what we have been doing for last few months. The focus is on the preparation we’ve done so far. There’s no need to put in any extra effort,” she said.
The goalkeeper admits her approach is markedly different from her first World Cup, when the magnitude of the tournament weighed on her.
“I was completely new in the last World Cup and felt a lot of pressure about how I would play in such a big tournament, but now I’ve matured and my focus is simply on performing well,” she said.
Regular exposure to the world’s leading teams has further helped Bichu shed any apprehension about facing elite attackers.
“In this era of aggressive hockey, facing the world’s top strikers is no longer a problem. We’ve played so many matches against big teams that it doesn’t matter anymore,” she said.
With experience having replaced uncertainty, Bichu says her job now is to remain composed and trust her judgement.
“I just have to stay calm on the field and make the decisions I’ll make.” That composure has been strengthened by her association with veteran goalkeeper Savita Punia, whom Bichu regards less as a competitor and more as a mentor.
Bichu said she regularly looks out for Savita for insights into handling difficult situations and making decisions during a match.
“I’ve learned a lot from Savita Di. I constantly ask her what’s going through her mind at any particular time or how to make decisions, and she suggests I ignore outside voices and focus on your game,” she said.
Their relationship, she added, works both ways, with the two goalkeepers helping each other through difficult moments.
“She’s taught me like an elder sister and she learns from me too. We try to keep each other’s morale high especially after conceding a goal in a match,” she added.
Bichu’s entry into goalkeeping was itself the result of an unexpected turn.
She had initially wanted to become a footballer and travelled to the SAI centre in Imphal for trials, only to find out that all available slots had been taken.
She recalled how that setback eventually redirected her sporting career towards hockey.
“I became a hockey player by mistake because I dreamt of becoming a footballer,” she said.
Her father then encouraged her to give hockey a chance, and the sport gradually won her over.
Bichu began as a striker and enjoyed scoring goals before Olympian Neelkamal advised her to take up goalkeeping.
The transition was not without its challenges. After joining the Madhya Pradesh Academy in 2015, Bichu had to wait six months for her goalkeeper’s kit, only to discover that the legguards were too large.
She recalled having to improvise with the equipment before she could properly begin her new role.
“I received a goalkeeper’s kit after six months, but the legguards were so big that I had to cut them down to play,” she recalled.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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