Olympics: Tailor’s daughter Nisha Warsi jumps over obstacles and makes a mark in hockey Tokyo Olympics news

BENGALURU: When he grew up, Nisha Wars had limited goals. He was always very interested in sports, but he wanted to play one that doesn’t burn a hole in his parents ’pockets. His family couldn’t afford much, and working through sports was always welcome. He chose hockey.
Cut to 2021, and Nisha is heading to the Tokyo Olympics. He has a dream of standing on a podium, his hands connected to his Indian hockey teammates and making the country and his parents proud. Last week, the 26-year-old defender is scheduled to debut at the Games.
The soft-spoken Nisha, Academy of Commonwealth Games gold medalist Pritam Rani Siwach, in Sonepet, Haryana, has fought many personal battles – in addition to the most common self-confidence demon that plagues players at the highest level – to get where he is.
His father, Sohrab Ahamad, was a tailor before the 2015 stroke left him paralyzed and forced him to quit. His mother, Mahroon, worked for a few years at a foam factory before Nisha arrived to work on the railroads.
At one point, social barriers forced Nisha to quit the game. However, his coach Siwach convinced his parents to give him a chance to pursue his dreams. Fortunately, the break was short.
“Life wasn’t easy,” Nisha said. “I was always very passionate about sports, but we drove word of mouth, and my parents couldn’t afford to invest in my sports career. I took up hockey because we didn’t have to consume equipment.”

PILLAR OF POWER
Mahroon turned the power pillar initially to his reluctance to choose his daughter’s career. “The country was about 30 minutes away and I had to leave home by 4.30. I was afraid to travel alone. My father dropped me off the bike and my mother was up and about 4 o’clock to start her daily chores that started waking me up and making breakfast,” said Nisha, among four siblings. Over time, Nisha became a regular member of the Haryana team and later of the Railways unit. The merits made home life much more comfortable.
In 2018, Nisha was elected to an Indian camp, but the decision to leave home was not an easy one.
“My father is dependent on us for all his needs. He was in and out of the hospital. I was wondering if my family could do it. My mother’s brother stepped in to help us and my family asked me not to be,” he explained.
On the international stage, Nisha was a late defeater as he missed the Indian junior team. He made his international debut in 2019 at the FIH Finals series in Hiroshima and has since earned nine Indian flags.
As in the rest of the world, the pandemic was not easy for Nisha, who spent most of the past year and a half in a national camp at SAI, South Center here.
“These have been difficult times. I was constantly worried about my family, especially my father. Circumstances have made me more determined to succeed well,” said Nisha, whose family celebrated the selection of his Olympic team by distributing sweets to the neighborhood.
But Nisha realizes that the moment of truth is ahead. “We’ve all worked hard for the Olympics and stayed focused. We want to get all those victims counted,” he said.