Elma Arsalan has been selected for the 2022 U-16 BC provincial field hockey team. She is the oldest daughter of Arsalan and Ayesha Butt, first generation immigrants who have called Surrey their home for the last 20 years. Elma is a grade 10 student and enjoys studying science and social studies. Besides being an honor roll student and part of the debating club, she also won the 2019 Gauss Contest at her elementary school. Be it a rookie of the year at a swimming club at 6, winning Taekwondo sparring contests against male peers, or captaining her U-16 team in the BC Field Hockey Junior League, Elma was an athletic child from a young age. Her field hockey journey started in 2015 at age 9. Now, she trains year-round with various hockey programs including her home team at India Field Hockey Club. She says, “I had my first serious (field hockey) lesson from Coach Salman (Hussain) about 5 years ago. When he set up the drill, I looked at my Baba and said I can’t do this. He smiled at me and said, in six months, you will be doing this with one hand behind your back”. She hasn’t looked back since then and hopes more girls from that Pakistani diaspora participate in organized sports. Elma’s current team and high-performance coaches are Muhammad Imran and Bindi Kullar. She intends to continue playing at the university level and hopes to represent Canada in future.
By: Arslan Butt
Friday, April 24, 2026
