By Rakeem Omar, BBC Radio WM • Chloe Hughes, BBC News, West Midlands
Sandeep MaanA woman is fundraising to take her sons with her to New Zealand when she competes in the 2024 Masters Hockey World Cup.
Sandeep Maan, 45, from Wolverhampton, qualified for the England over 45s team in January, and is the first woman of south Asian heritage to play masters hockey for England.
She wants her sons, Jay, 10, and Kieran, eight, to accompany her as she credits them with getting her back into the sport.
“They mean so much to me, and I feel as though it’s because of them that I’m where I am now,” Ms Maan told BBC Radio WM.
“I can’t think of anything better than to end the year with the boys at the World Cup in New Zealand with me.”
The fundraiser aims to collect £2,500 for the boys’ air fares to Auckland in November.
More than £1,700 has been donated to an online fundraising page so far.
Sandeep MaanMs Maan’s hockey career began when she was 10 years old.
At 15, she progressed to the national league, but noticed there were few Asian players around her, and some prejudice in relation to it.
“One of my coaches said to me ‘when you turn 16 are you going to stop playing’?” she recalled. “He said ‘we’ve had other Sikh girls come and play and their parents cut that journey short for them’.”
She explained: “I was shocked as to why you would ask me that question.
“My only barrier originally was how I was going to get to training, not that the colour of my skin was going to stop me playing something I absolutely loved.”
In fact, she continued to play and in the US while studying for a masters degree, and then for a Sutton Coldfield club on her return.
But after having her boys and going through a divorce, she gave up the sport.
“My focus was work and the boys,” she said.
However, last year, her sons encouraged her to start again.
It was in January that she took part in the England trials, securing her place on the World Cup squad.
“If I’m asking my children to put themselves out there, what better thing to do than show them by example?” she stated.
“They started this journey for me.”
