It was a gloomy night at the Marang Gomke Jaipal Singh Astro Turf Hockey Stadium in Ranchi a year ago. Despite their grueling efforts, the Indian women’s hockey team could not beat Japan in the third-place playoff match of the 2024 Women’s FIH Hockey Olympic Qualifiers.

Heartbroken the Savita Punia-led side watched as Germany, the United States and Japan booked their tickets to the Paris Olympics. After their heroic efforts in the Tokyo Olympics, where they missed the bronze medal by whiskers, this was a hard pill to swallow for each member of the team, including Udita Duhan, who was part of the squad in Tokyo. However, a year after that disappointment the introduction of the Women’s Hockey India League is something that excites Duhan.