Bilaspur: Two players from Bilaspur’s Khelo India State Centre of Excellence—Geeta Yadav and Madhu Sidar—have been selected for the Indian Junior Women’s Hockey Team. They will showcase their talent and prowess while representing the country at the upcoming Junior Asia Cup, scheduled to be held in Moki, China, from August 30 to September 13.
The Journey to Team India
Madhu Sidar hails from Pongro, a small village in Kansabel (Jashpur district), a region often referred to as a nursery for hockey talent. Her parents are farmers. She has participated in the Sub-Junior National Championship (2024-25), the School Nationals (2024-25), and the Sub-Junior Inter-Zonal Championship (2025) held in Haryana. Her team secured fourth place at the Hockey India National Championship held in Andhra Pradesh from August 1 to August 12, 2025. Madhu also competed in the country’s first Khelo India Tribal Games, held in Chhattisgarh in March-April of this year. She has been training with the Indian team in Bengaluru since April 2026.
Geeta Yadav, a native of Bodla in the Kabirdham district, received her initial hockey training under Coach Shiva Chauhan. Her international career began in 2024 when she represented the Indian team during tours of the Netherlands and Belgium from November 12 to November 21, 2024. Subsequently, she was part of the Indian squad for tours of Argentina (May 15 to June 2, 2025) and England and Scotland (July 5 to July 14, 2026).
