दीपिका ठाकुर

दीपिका ठाकुर (जन्म: 9th September 1989) भारतीय मैदानी हॉकी खिलाड़ी हैं। यह हरियाणा के यमुना नगर की रहने वाली हैं और भारतीय रेलवे में काम करती हैं। इन्होंने चंडीगढ़ के एक खेल छात्रावास में रह कर वहाँ से खेलने हेतु प्रशिक्षण लिया था।

Career Achievements & Contributions

Deepika Thakur has had a remarkable career, both in terms of longevity and accolades:

National Representation:

Highest-capped player for India’s women's field hockey team with over 200 international appearances and 226 caps .

Scored approximately 24 international goals .

Competed in prestigious events including:

Women's Hockey World Cup: 2006, 2010.

Asian Games: 2010, 2014, 2018.

Commonwealth Games: 2010, 2014. .

Leadership Roles:

Served as vice-captain of the Indian team during the 2016 Rio Olympics, a milestone moment as India qualified for the Olympics for the first time in 36 years .

Tournament Successes:

Played a pivotal role in securing India’s first-ever Asian Champions Trophy (2016) and was honored as the Highest Scorer of the Tournament .

Won gold at the 2016 South Asian Games, scoring in the final .

Asian Games 2018 (Jakarta): Silver medal .

4th Asian Champions Trophy (Singapore, 2016): Gold medal; 5th Asian Champions Trophy (Korea, 2018): Silver medal .

Won the Women’s Hockey World League Semifinal (Vancouver, 2017) .

Multiple other medals:

Bronze at 2014 Asian Games, 2013 Asia Cup, several test series victories, and gold at the 2009 Champion Challenge II. .

Awards & Honors:

GM Railways Award (2008) .

Hockey India Defender of the Year (2014) .

Dhruv Batra Player of the Year, Women (Hockey) (2015) .

Arjuna Award (2020) for her significant contributions to Indian hockey .

Other Notable Contributions:

Known for her resilience and leadership, she postponed personal milestones (like her marriage) to focus on hockey and lead the team through challenging times, including guiding the team to Olympic qualification and tournament success .