In a significant milestone for Indian sport, Deepika Sehrawat became the first-ever Indian player to be awarded the Poligras Magic Skill Award for her astonishing individual goal against the Netherlands during the 2024–25 FIH Hockey Pro League. This award represents the individual brilliance of Deepika as well as the growing influence of Indian women in international women’s hockey.
Deepika is from Hisar, Haryana and first came to fame in the 2018 Sub-Junior National Championships when she scored 16 goals to win the best player award. She represented the junior national team in the Youth Olympic Qualifiers (2018) and was part of the India squad in the 2021 Junior Women’s World Cup and Junior Asia Cup where India won a gold medal. She made her senior debut in the 2021–22 FIH Pro League.
Poligras Magic Skill Award is an annual international award voted by hockey fans to the most creative and skilful play of an individual during the Pro league season given out by FIH. This is important because this is the first time that an Indian male or female has received this award and highlights the emergence of Indian women in international hockey.
Deepika’s winning goal occurred in an important game against world no. 1 Netherlands. Down 0-2, Deepika managed to dribble past a number of defenders, lifted the ball over a defender’s stick, and produced a stunning individual goal. India then ended the match 2-2 and won the shootout, certainly a memorable match for the fans.
