Football’s loss, hockey’s gain: How Bichu Devi became custodian of Indian fortunes

Bichu started as a forward before being asked her to switch roles after looking at her frame. (Hockey India)

As Bichu Devi Kharibam stretched to her left for a last-gasp save against England in the Women’s Hockey World Cup and kept India alive in the competition, veteran Savita Punia jumped like an excited kid in the dugout.

The reel went viral on social media platforms with many Indian fans discovering Bichu’s shot-saving prowess for the first time. However, according to Savita, this was just one of the many big moments Bichu is likely to enjoy in her career.

“She has been my understudy for three years and I can tell you she is one of the best goalkeepers around,” Savita told The Indian Express. “Whenever we are playing, Bichu pushes me to the limit and I try to do the same. Our bond off the field helps us get better on it knowing that we have got each other’s back.”

ALSO READ | Asian Games: China no longer the Great Wall for India’s women’s hockey team

Talking about that viral moment that took India to the second round of the World Cup, Bichu said, “The communication between me and Savitadi is like telepathy. As it was the last quarter, I was nervous and constantly looking at her. She asked me to calm down with her hand gestures. Once that assurance came, I just did what I had to do.”

Savita, the 36-year-old goalkeeper from Haryana who is in the autumn of her career, can speak for hours about her bond with the 25-year-old Manipuri, who can duly return the favour.

Timely upgrades

If someone had asked a younger Bichu where she wants to be in 2026, she would have happily said it was the Indian women’s football team. But as fate would have it, there were no vacancies by the time she made it to a local training academy. After crying her eyes out, she took her father’s suggestion and picked up hockey.

Story continues below this ad

Bichu’s career has gone through several phases, and she has had to update herself regularly to get to where she is right now.

Bichu started as a forward before P Nilakomol Singh, the understudy to goalkeeper Romeo James at the 1984 Olympics and one of the earliest Manipuri Olympians, asked her to switch roles after looking at her frame.

Savita (L), the 36-year-old goalkeeper who is in the autumn of her career, can speak for hours about her bond with the 25-year-old Bichu Devi. (Hockey India)

“I barely knew anything about hockey. When I switched, I was a striker but Nilakomol sir asked me to become a goalkeeper. I had no idea what I would do,” Bichu recalls.

In 2015, Bichu shifted to the Madhya Pradesh Hockey Academy to take her game to the next level. While she honed her goalkeeping skills, she also had to brush up on her Hindi.

Story continues below this ad

“Trust me, learning Hindi seemed more difficult than goalkeeping at that time. But it was needed for me to understand the coaches better and communicate with my teammates. I learnt Hindi by watching TV news channels,” said Bichu.

However, all the minutes spent in front of the TV and the hours spent under the goalpost paid off when she made her senior India debut in 2022. But she was largely an understudy to Savita, one of the best goalkeepers in the world.

Aggressive to patient

Bichu has had a lot of waiting to do in her career.

Be it her transition from the juniors after the Youth Olympics medal in 2018 or the time it took for her to be a regular in the senior team. But the wait has shaped her personality to the point that she faces the best in the world without flinching.

Story continues below this ad

ALSO READ | Why Hockey India’s director general has been stripped of his powers: Jersey colour change to Netherlands’ trip

“Any goalkeeper has to be patient. There is nothing a goalkeeper can do apart from waiting for the ball to arrive. I have played games where the ball didn’t even come into my circle. So those kinds of matches teach you patience and also keep you alert,” explained Bichu.

However, she was not always this patient. When Bichu started in the sport, she was an aggressive player.

“It can be both good and bad but I had a lot of aggression in my early days,” she recalls.

Story continues below this ad

Savita and former coach Janneke Schopman played an important role in shaping the patient version of Bichu. “Although calmness comes with experience, Savitadi helped a lot. Whenever she would come back after a game, I used to ask her many questions,” said Bichu.

“I would want to know what she was thinking at a certain moment or how she dealt with a counter-attack or what was going inside her head during a penalty corner. All these learnings helped me massively as I got first-hand experience without entering the field,” she added.

To curb her aggression and get more patient, Schopman asked Bichu to read self-help books.

“I used to read books like ’30 Days, 30 Challenges’ and perform the challenges mentioned in it to keep myself calm. All of it helped.”

Story continues below this ad

When current coach Sjoerd Marjine was asked about Bichu, all he said was “Rock Solid”.

And that’s the ideal way to sum up her performance at the World Cup where the Indian women’s team registered a historic fifth-place finish ahead of the likes of Germany, China and England.

As the Indian team flies to Japan for the Asian Games and a shot at Olympic qualification, Bichu’s patience, shot-saving ability and strng mindset will be central to its prospects.