At 22, Beauty Dungdung stands at a critical intersection of ambition and responsibility.
Currently part of the Indian Women’s Hockey Team national camp in Bengaluru, the forward is rebuilding her game ahead of the FIH Hockey World Cup 2026 Qualifiers in Hyderabad. But her return to the turf has been shaped by challenges that extend far beyond sport.
Her journey back to elite competition has been neither linear nor simple. In 2023, Beauty suffered a severe knee injury that forced her into a prolonged rehabilitation phase. Recovery stretched close to two years a period defined by uncertainty, isolation, and physical pain.
“It took me about two years to make a comeback,” she reflects. The injury disrupted not just her match rhythm but her belief system. There were stretches during rehabilitation when progress felt slow and the prospect of wearing the India jersey again seemed distant.
Yet the injury was only one part of her struggle.
During that same recovery period, Beauty lost her father the man who first placed a hockey stick in her hands. The emotional impact was devastating. Managing grief while undergoing rehabilitation created an internal battle that few athletes are prepared for.
“My father passed away during my injury period. I was going back and forth between home and the camp, and so much was happening at once,” she shares. “There were times when I really doubted if a comeback would even happen.”
Her father had been the foundation of her hockey dream. Growing up in a small village in Jharkhand, financial resources were limited. When she was just five years old, he carved her first hockey stick out of bamboo because the family could not afford proper equipment. As her talent grew, he travelled to other states for daily-wage labour, ensuring she had the means to pursue competitive hockey.
His belief carried her forward. His absence changed everything.
“When Papa was here, I had a lot of support. Now, I have to do everything myself.”
Today, Beauty is not only an international athlete but also the primary support system for her family. Through her job at Indian Oil, she sustains her household financially. She contributes to her brother’s family, funds the education of her niece and nephews, and most critically, looks after her mother.
Her mother is partially paralyzed and struggles with memory loss a reality that weighs heavily on Beauty during long training camps away from home.
“It gets stressful sometimes because Mummy is partially paralyzed, and her memory is fading. She forgets things easily,” she says. “I explain things to her again and again, but she still asks me, ‘When will you come home?’ My mind naturally goes to her when I am away.”
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The emotional pull of home runs parallel to the intensity of international sport. Balancing personal responsibility with professional ambition requires mental discipline that often goes unseen.
“If I think too much, I will be the one in trouble, so I put all my focus into the game,” she explains. “It feels good to be able to help my family financially. I just try to manage it from both sides.” Her coping mechanism lies within the team environment. The national camp in Bengaluru has become more than a training space; it is a support network.
“I have friends in the team, so I share my feelings with them. Even before a match, if I am feeling low, I tell them honestly that my mood isn’t great today, so please motivate me. The team really helps.” That emotional transparency has played a role in her gradual return to form. Beauty made her comeback through the Asian Champions Trophy and the recent Hero Hockey India League, rebuilding match sharpness and competitive confidence.
On the field, she is known for her running off the ball and intelligent receiving skills in attacking zones. In camp, she is focused on rediscovering rhythm inside the striking circle refining timing, positioning, and finishing. The upcoming World Cup Qualifiers present both an opportunity and a test. For Beauty, qualification would represent more than sporting success. It would validate resilience forged through adversity.
Her journey underscores the intersection between athlete and individual. The pressures she carries are layered performance expectations, financial responsibility, caregiving, and personal grief. Yet each training session becomes an act of forward motion.
Beauty Dungdung no longer plays simply for selection or statistics. She plays for stability at home. She plays for her mother’s care. She plays for the siblings who look up to her. And she plays in memory of a father who shaped a bamboo stick into the first instrument of her dream.
Every time she steps onto the turf, she carries that history with her.
