If Navneet Kaur had grown up anywhere other than Shahbad, she might never have become a hockey player.

Cricket dominated her home. Her father was an avid follower of the sport, and one of her earliest sporting idols was India’s captain, Harmanpreet Kaur. But growing up in Shahbad — the small Haryana town that has produced an assembly line of international hockey players — made a different future almost inevitable.

Baldev’s Influence

In Shahbad, hockey isn’t a sport children discover. It’s the sport that finds them. “My father wanted me to play cricket; he likes the sport a lot. But where I grew up in Shahbad, everyone played hockey. I thought, ‘Okay, there’s no cricket here, but if you want to go into sports, then try hockey’,” Navneet told from Amsterdam.

She had another, more compelling reason: coach Baldev Singh, who was conferred the Padma Shri this year. “He has created many excellent international players. So that’s why I started playing hockey,” she said.

On Sunday at the Women’s Hockey World Cup, the 30-year-old reminded everyone why both Shahbad and Baldev continue to shape some of India’s finest players.

With India holding Olympic silver medallists China to a 2-2 draw in their Pool D opener, ending a run of four straight defeats against the Asian heavyweights, the experienced forward produced a performance that was as influential as it was energetic. She scored, created openings, led the press and constantly forced China onto the back foot. A few times, she even tracked all the way back into India’s half to win possession and relieve the pressure on her defenders.

India needed all of that. And they will need more of it over the next four days, with matches against South Africa and England set to determine whether they progress.

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When she first walked onto a hockey field, Navneet had little idea what a World Cup even was. “I went to the ground just looking for an opportunity to play. I had no idea I’d end up playing here… or even get selected,” she said.

That journey began under Baldev, the man who transformed Shahbad into one of Indian hockey’s greatest talent factories, producing more than 80 internationals and eight Indian captains, including Rani Rampal.

Navneet grew up watching two other former captains, Ritu Rani and Surinder Kaur, train under him. Before she was one of his students, she was an observer. “He was very strict about discipline and demanded complete focus during training. Otherwise, you’d have to run laps of the ground,” Navneet said. “If he saw potential in a player, he would pay extra attention. But he was never biased. All he wanted was to create opportunities for girls through hockey.”

Baldev had spotted the spark in her, and by 2013, Navneet was seen as one of India’s brightest young prospects, even featuring in the bronze medal-winning team at the Junior World Cup. But her early years in senior hockey were far from straightforward. Although she made her debut in 2014, Navneet had only 16 appearances till 2017, when she started consistently featuring in the squad. Since then, she has played 196 times and scored 95 goals.

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The uncertainty of being in and out of the squad forced Navneet to rethink her game. “I realised I had to play with more smartness and understand tactics. In India, players have skills, but in today’s hockey, you have to understand the game and know how to play,” she said.

Fitness became equally important. “Without fitness, the tactics you’re learning are not useful. So I think I’ve focused the most on the smartness of hockey.”

That intelligence is reflected in the way she plays.

Unlike forwards who wait inside the circle for opportunities to arrive, Navneet prefers to create them herself. She likes receiving the ball while on the move, taking on defenders and accelerating into spaces before disappearing. China couldn’t contain that unpredictability.

Quiet Influence

Navneet was among the team’s best players at the Asia Cup, followed by an outstanding performance at the World Cup qualifiers in Hyderabad, where she was named Player of the Tournament, and during the triumphant FIH Nations Cup campaign in June.

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Yet, despite crossing 200 international appearances and playing a key role in India’s run to the Tokyo Olympics semifinals, she has rarely sought the spotlight. She has kept showing up.

And on a day when India needed a gritty performance to begin their World Cup campaign, it was fitting that the player from Shahbad — the girl who grew up in a cricket-loving household but couldn’t escape the pull of hockey — was the one leading the way.