New Delhi: Former Indian hockey skipper Rani Rampal announced her retirement on Thursday ending a glittering 16-year career in the blue jersey.
Rani became an inspiration for aspiring women athletes across the country with her meteoric rise from a small town in Haryana.
‘Gave my 100%’
Rani did not come from a family of means. Her father pull carts to make ends meets.
“Seven-year-old Rani would have never thought that she would play for the country one day and retire after playing more than 250 games in this prestigious jersey,” Rani told the reporters on the sidelines of the India and Germany bilateral hockey series in Delhi.
The 29-year-old will sign off as one of India’s most decorated hockey players after leading the women’s team to its best-ever finish at the Olympics — a fourth place at the Tokyo Games in 2021.
“I have no regrets from my playing days at all. I left everything on the hockey turf and gave my 100%. I think this is the right time for me to call it a day,” she added further.
✅254 India Caps
✅205 International Goals
✅4th at 2020 Tokyo Olympics
✅2018 Asian Games 🥈
✅2014 Asian Games 🥉Former Indian Women’s #Hockey national team captain Rani Rampal announces retirement.
Thank you for the memories, Rani 😇 pic.twitter.com/yZhNdligzo
— Read (@the_bridge_in) October 24, 2024
A hockey prodigy
One of the finest Indian forwards, she made her international debut as a 14-year-old in the 2008 Olympic qualifiers.
She scored 205 goals in her long and stellar career.
Rani was the heart of the the Indian team which qualified for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and went on to register a historic fourth-place finish after enduring a heart breaking loss in the bronze medal match.
However, her career stalled due to injuries and a fall out with the former Indian coach Janneke Schopman in the 2024 Paris Olympics cycle didn’t help her cause either.
Eventually, Rani transitioned to coaching and mentorship and enrolled herself in the FIH coaching courses.
She coached the Indian sub-junior team last year.
Recently, she was roped in by JSW-owned Soorma Hockey Club as the mentor of the women’s team in the inaugural Hockey India League.
“I will coach the kids now and I think there are a lot of girls who can benefit from my experience. I reached here because I had a very good guide and coach in my life and I want to do the same for the kids,” Rani concluded.
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