Photo Courtesy: nenews
Aizawl: The Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports named hockey forward Lalremsiami Hmar a recipient of the Arjuna Award 2025 this Tuesday. She hails from Kolasib, Mizoram. This win marks the first time a sportsperson from the state has claimed the national honor.
Lalremsiami was born on March 30, 2000. She built a reputation as a fierce competitor on the field. She played in the 2018 Women's Hockey World Cup. Later, she won a silver medal at the Asian Games. That medal made her the first athlete from her home state to reach an Asian Games podium.
She kept climbing. In 2021, she joined the Indian squad for the Tokyo Olympics. She became the first female athlete from Mizoram to compete at the Olympic Games. High-ranking officials quickly praised her rise to national prominence.
Mizoram Governor celebrated the selection on X. He wrote, "Her journey towards national recognition reflects her exceptional resilience, dedication and perseverance." He added that her success supports the state Vision Olympics 2036 initiative. Chief Minister Lalduhoma also chimed in on social media. He called her inclusion a source of immense pride for the entire state.
Updated at 19th August 2026 at 9:52pm
Born into an agrarian family, Lalremsiami originally hails from Diglangmukh, a village in the Cachar district of Assam. Her family relocated to Kolasib in 2005 when she was five. Her hockey career took root in 2011 at the state-run academy in Thenzawl after local teachers identified her potential. She later relocated to the National Hockey Academy in New Delhi in 2016 to push her training to the next level.
The forward rose through the ranks quickly, debuting at the 2011 Junior Nehru Hockey Tournament before joining the Under-18 squad for the 2016 Asia Cup. She secured a spot on the senior national team in 2017 and helped the squad win gold at the Asia Cup that year. In 2020, she became the first Indian woman hockey player to earn the International Hockey Federation Women's Rising Star of the Year award.
A defining moment in her career occurred in 2019 during the FIH Women's Series in Japan. Despite the death of her father, Lalthansanga Zote, she stayed with the team to help India secure Olympic qualification. Her rise makes her the state's second Olympian in 25 years, following in the footsteps of archer C. Lalremsanga who competed in the 1992 and 1996 Games. Other officials, including Sports Minister Lalnghinglova Hmar and Congress president Lal Thanzara, joined the state leadership in praising the achievement as a historic milestone for local athletes.
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