“Life is not about how many times you fall down. It’s about how many times you get back up.”

Nikita Toppo, captain of the Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology (KIIT) women’s hockey team, is an epitome of American educator Jaime Escalante’s philosophy.

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The 22-year-old lost both her parents when she was just five and one of her elder brothers died in a fatal accident when she was on her way to U-23 Five-Nations Cup in Ireland three years ago. A year later, she suffered a career-threatening injury and soon after, her only remaining brother met with an accident and suffered a skull injury from which he hasn’t completely recovered yet.

But instead of getting bogged down by the series of setbacks, Nikita has made hockey her solace and was instrumental in helping KIIT win

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