Anupama Puchimanda

Anupama Puchimanda (8 July 1980 – 18 April 2021) was an Indian athlete who competed nationally in field hockey and officiated internationally as an umpire. In 2006, she was the first Indian woman to umpire at the Commonwealth Games. She officiated over 90 international hockey matches, including the Asian Games, Central American and Caribbean Games, the FIH Junior World Cup, and the East Asian Games, as well as over 100 Indian hockey matches during her career.

Biography Puchimanda was born in Virajpet, Karnataka and earned a degree in law. In April 2021, Puchimanda contracted and died of COVID-19 at the age of 41. She was married to Mithun Mandanna.

Career Puchimanda began her hockey career in 1995, competing in a sub-junior National championship and representing the State of Karnataka. She later represented the senior team at the same championship, played for Mangalore University's hockey team, and became a hockey umpire for the State of Karnataka in 2004. She played in the mid-field and right flank. She also officiated at the BDO Junior World Cup (Women) (2005,Santiago), the Hero Hockey World League Round-2 (Women) (2013, Delhi) and the 2013 Women's Asia Cup (Kuala Lumpur). In 2012, she officiated at the Women's Four Nations Hockey Tournament. During her career, she officiated over 90 international hockey matches, as well as an equivalent amount of national and state matches in India.