"I have been able to go through the ups and downs of being dropped, being brought back, playing in a few World Cups and being a part of some great teams.”
With Indians making up 6% of New Zealand’s population, these honours highlight the vital role of ethnic communities in building a more inclusive and diverse Aotearoa.
"Just throw the imagination and also the hiccup in the bin and not think too much about where we went wrong because throughout the season we've been playing amazing.”
Of the 5.7 lakh applicants, 1.78 lakh were women — but only 17 cleared the grueling selection process, earning their places in the academy’s first co-ed batch, which commenced training in 2022.
Overseas-born individuals now make up 32 per cent of the country’s estimated population of 27.6 million—approaching the historic peak of 32.4 per cent recorded in 1891.