Forced to quit hockey, Nirmala Dagar returns as umpire – The Times of India

Here's an interesting story published in The Times of India about the success of Nirmala Dagar, who most recently umpired at the South East Asian Games. We lose so many female athletes and officials to the pressures of the roles they are expected to fulfill at home. Somehow we need to work to encourage change at a deeper level to keep women involved in sports throughout their lives–both for the betterment of hockey and also the lives of women, their families and their communities.

Marriage at an early age forced her to quit her career as a state-level hockey player in 1999 and shattered her dream of playing at the international level. But her passion for the game motivated her to restart her career in the sport as an umpire in 2006…

“Due to some personal issues, I had to give in to my parents' demands and got married at 18. I had to quit hockey soon after. However, after seven years (in 2006), I started again as an umpire,” she says.

Source: Forced to quit hockey, she returns as umpire – The Times of India