Hockey India League: Bansari Solanki steps off the bench and into the limelight as SG Pipers beat Bengal Tigers in shootout to win title

(From left): Bansari Solanki saved a stroke off Agustina Gorzelany during the shootout as SG Pipers clinched the title; SG Pipers celebrate winning women’s HIL second edition. (HIL)

Growing up, Bansari Solanki dreamt of being an aeronautics engineer. She started playing hockey just for fun after being coaxed by a teacher at her school. However, it became a passion when she watched Hockey India League matches – the previous iteration of the league that ran till 2017.

She didn’t start off as a goalkeeper, either. Even that was a quirk of fate when a coach asked her to pad up to fill in for someone else. Her career truly kick-started after being spotted by one of India’s greatest ever, Dhanraj Pillay, when he scouted across Gujarat for young talent. Olympian Romeo James further refined her goalkeeping skills. She even wanted to be an Aeronautics Engineer growing up.

A journey with many twists and turns would meet with one more on Saturday. Having not been named in the starting lineup for SG Pipers in the Women’s HIL Final, Solanki was substituted in for the Penalty Shootout. And the youngster from Vadodara stopped a Penalty Stroke from Argentine superstar Agustina Gorzelany and thwarted a couple of other attempts as SG Pipers beat Bengal Tigers to clinch the title in Ranchi. And for Solanki’s contribution, she walked away with the Player of the Match and Goalkeeper of the Tournament awards.

They held their nerve. They finished the fight. 🏆🏑

The SG Pipers are crowned Champions of the Women’s Hero Hockey India League after a campaign defined by discipline, belief, and big moments under pressure. Champions, in every sense of the word. 👏🔥#HeroHockeyIndiaLeague… pic.twitter.com/tsgDeco3hr

— Hockey India League (@HockeyIndiaLeag) January 10, 2026

For the third time in this edition, there was nothing to separate Tigers and Pipers over four quarters of regulation time. The tireless Lalremsiami, who could have easily walked away with all the plaudits had Tigers won the match, scored the opener in the 19th minute. SG Pipers huffed and puffed for the remainder of the match, trying to find the equaliser, which finally arrived in the 53rd minute, thanks to Preeti Dubey. Then, in the shootout, Solanki was sharp between the posts while captain Navneet Kaur and Juana Castellaro converted their attempts, while the winning moment came via a Penalty Stroke won by Kaitlin Nobbs, which Lola Riera converted. And just like Pipers, who finished last in the inaugural edition with just a solitary outright win, were crowned champions.

Jyoti Singh had a golden chance early on in the match as Pipers started on the front foot, the ball falling to the India junior captain a yard away from goal, but she couldn’t put the stick on the ball. Despite not creating much in the opening quarter, the Tigers took the lead early in the second. Sushila Chanu’s low slap of the ball across the turf has been a staple for Indian hockey for a long time, and it was her drilled pass into the circle that broke the deadlock. Lalremsiami was quick to drag the ball to her right inside the circle, and even though the connection wasn’t clean, with the ball bouncing off the turf, the goalkeeper was beaten.

The Tigers did force five penalty corners, which are serious goalscoring opportunities when there is Gorzelany on the pitch. Unfortunately for them, the tournament’s leading goalscorer couldn’t find the back of the net. She did come mighty close in the third quarter but was denied by the width of the post.

In the final quarter, the Pipers started pushing the Tigers back deeper and deeper into their own territory with Navneet – player of the tournament – at the heart of it all. Their increased desperation eventually paid off as the ball fell kindly to Dubey after a scramble; her high shot on goal took a crucial deflection off the goalkeeper’s stick and nestled underneath the crossbar.