Odisha’s Lilima Minz Calls Time On Indian Women’s Hockey Team

Bhubaneswar: Indian hockey midfielder and 2-time Asian Games medalist Lilima Minz on Thursday announced retirement from the national team. She, however, will continue to play domestic hockey.

The 27-year-old scored 12 goals in 156 matches for India.

A native of Bihabandh-Tanatoli village of Odisha’s Sundargarh district, Lilima made her international debut in 2011 during the four-nation tournament in Argentina.

The midfielder became a regular feature in the Indian women’s team from December 2012 and was also a member of the team that won the women’s hockey test series 6-0 against Malaysia in 2014. She represented the country at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow and was also a part of the team that won the bronze medal at the 2014 Asian Games in Incheon, Korea.

Lilima, featured in the historic Indian side which took the field at the Rio Olympics in 2016 for the first time in 36 years.

She was also part of the Indian team’s historic 9th Women’s Asia Cup win in 2017.

She also participates in Gold Coast Commonwealth Games 2018 where the team finished fourth and was part of the silver medal-winning team of the 5th Women’s Asian Champions Trophy 2018, as well as the team which finished in the quarter-finals of the FIH Women’s World Cup 2018.

The midfielder was also part of the Indian team that won a silver medal at the 2018 Asian Games in Jakarta, Indonesia.

She was also a part of the Indian team, which booked a place in the Tokyo Olympics through the FIH Hockey Olympic Qualifiers 2019 in Bhubaneswar, Odisha.

“Lilima has made a huge contribution to Indian hockey during her fantastic career and we cannot thank her enough for her efforts,” said Hockey India President Gyanendro Ningombam in a statement.

“She has played a massive role in the growth of the Indian Women’s Hockey Team in the last few years. Hockey India congratulates her on a wonderful career and wishes her all the very best for the next chapter of her life,” he added.