As the Indian women’s hockey team begins their preparation for the three major tournaments in the coming months with a four-match series against Argentina at the Club Ciudad de Buenos Aires starting Monday, one player who will look to impress coach Sjoerd Marijne is newcomer Lalthantluangi. The Mizo youngster was part of the team that won the Junior Asia Cup in 2024 and competed in the Junior World Cup held in Chile last year. However, her real challenge begins now, as Marijne looks to pit the side against the world No. 2 team. “She was hoping to get a call-up during the World Cup qualifiers itself and was heartbroken when she couldn’t make it to the team. But I told her to keep faith and work hard, and she was very happy after finally getting selected,” said Lalthantluangi’s long-time coach, Miss B’tei. Lalthantluangi, who also played during the Women’s Hockey India League (HIL) for Ranchi Royals, trained under Miss B’tei since 2016, when she joined the SAI Hockey Centre in Thenzawl, till the time she made it to the junior national camp in 2024. “We selected her after she competed at the Thenzawl Zone Middle School sports meet in 2016. She didn’t know anything about hockey then and used to play volleyball and football in her village, but we chose her since her physical attributes were very good,” said the coach, who continues to train nearly 40 students at the Thenzawl academy. While Miss B’tei can’t wait to see her pupil play for the senior side, she is more than pleased with how Lalremsiami, also her student, motivated the newcomer to go even higher. “Lalremsiami is a huge inspiration for players from Mizoram. She gives a lot of confidence to the youngsters and helps them out in every way possible,” the coach further added. Naturally, Lalremsiami is looking forward to playing with her. “It’s a proud moment for me to have my junior in the team, especially since we are both from Mizoram. I know how hard it is to reach this stage and how difficult it is to come this far,” said Lalremsiami from Argentina. “As a player, she is very disciplined and it’s nice to see her growth.” What’s even more special is how eagerly the players of the academy are waiting to see Lalthantluangi take the field in national colours. She will only be the third player after Lalremsiami and Hnialum Lalruatfeli to play for the national women’s hockey team from Mizoram. “The excitement at the institute is very high because another player from here has got a chance to play internationally. The other students are also very happy and motivated, hoping to play for the Indian team someday,” she added. As far as Marijne is concerned, he wants to see individual and team performances against the No. 2 ranked side in the world. “We are here with 23 players, who will all get the opportunity to showcase themselves. We will use this tour as an opportunity to play with different team combinations and find ways to win,” said Marijne in a statement.