India’s Durga Thakur has been promoted to international outdoor umpire by the International Hockey Federation (FIH) following her good performance at the recently-held Hawkes Bay Cup in Hastings, New Zealand.

• Thakur started her career as an umpire from the third Hockey India Sub-Junior Men & Women National Championship (Finals) in Bhopal in 2013.
• A graduate of NSNIS in 2011, her first international assignment came in 2015 at the double six-Nation Cup in Breda, Netherlands.
• A physical education teacher at Modern School, New Delhi, Thakur has represented her state Himachal Pradesh in the National Championships in three sporting disciplines — handball, basketball and hockey.
• Currently there are 14 Indians in the elite league of international umpires (10 men, 5 women).

A physical education teacher at Modern School, New Delhi, Thakur has represented her state Himachal Pradesh in the National Championships in three sporting disciplines — handball, basketball and hockey. She was one of the umpires in the finals of the last National Games.