Sangita Kumari and Beauty Dungdung – two of the three players from Jharkhand representing India at the FIH Junior Women’s WC and being led by another state senior Salima Tete – will take the field against England in Potchefstroom on Tuesday hoping to match the team’s bronze medal-winning feat in 2013.
And far away in Jharkhand’s two villages in Simdega district, their parents will not only be praying for their daughters’ success, but also some much-needed rain. Both their parents are farmers, and the dearth of rain has made it incredibly tough for them and every other agriculture-dependent family in the region.