Guwahati: Lalremsiami Hmar Zote has become the first sportsperson from Mizoram to receive the Arjuna Award. President Droupadi Murmu presented the honour to the 26-year-old Indian women’s hockey player at Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi on Friday.
Lalremsiami was among 17 athletes selected for the Arjuna Award 2025 by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports on August 18.
Originally from Mizoram Kolasib district, near the Assam border, Lalremsiami began playing hockey during her childhood.
At 11, she enrolled at the state government’s hockey academy in Thenzawl in 2011. Five years later, she moved to the National Hockey Academy in New Delhi to continue her training.
Her first appearance at the national level came at the Junior Nehru Hockey Tournament in October 2011. In 2016, she earned a place in India’s Under-18 squad for the Asian Cup.
The following year, she received her maiden call-up to the senior national team and helped India secure the Asia Cup title.
Lalremsiami went on to represent India at several major international competitions. One of the most significant milestones in her career came at the Tokyo Olympics in 2020, where the Indian women’s team finished fourth.
In 2019, she continued playing for India in the FIH Women’s Series in Japan despite losing her father, Lalthansanga Zote, during the tournament period. India went on to win the competition and qualify for the Tokyo Olympics. With that qualification, Lalremsiami became the first woman from Mizoram to compete at the Olympic Games.
Her individual achievements also include becoming the first Indian woman hockey player to win the International Hockey Federation’s Women’s Rising Star of the Year award in 2020.
Further success followed with a bronze medal at the 2022 Asian Games, victories in the Asian Champions Trophy in 2023 and 2024, and gold at the 2026 Asian Games.
The state government had also announced a reward of Rs 40 lakh each for Lalremsiami and fellow Mizo player Lalthantluangi for their contribution to India’s women’s hockey team’s gold medal win at the Asian Games on October 2.