Rani Rampal

Rani Rampal (born 4 December 1994) is an Indian field hockey player.[1][2] At the age of 15, she was the youngest player in the national team which participated in the 2010 World Cup. She has completed her schooling but was not able to get the graduate degree due to practice sessions and matches which were lined up. She plays forward on her team. She has played 212 international matches and scored 134 goals. She is currently the Captain for Indian Women's Hockey Team.[3] She is also well known as a striker who often doubles up as mid-fielder.[4] She has a great fascination with CWG. In 2020, the Government of India honoured her with the Padma Shri.[5][6]

Rani Rampal

Personal information
Born	(1994-12-04) 4 December 1994 Shahabad Markanda, Haryana, India
Height	1.65 m (5 ft 5 in)
Weight	60 kg (132 lb)
Playing position	Forward
National team
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2009–	India	226	(112)
Medal record Women's field hockey Representing  India Asian Games 2018 Jakarta Team 2014 Incheon Team Junior World Cup 2013 Mönchengladbach Team

Early life

Rani was born on 4 December 1994 in Shahabad Markanda in the Kurukshetra district of Haryana. Her father works as a cart-puller. She was registered in the town's team by the age of 6. Initially her abilities were questioned but later on she demonstrated her potential to her coach. She took to field hockey in 2003 and trained at the Shahabad Hockey Academy under Baldev Singh, a recipient of Dronacharya Award.[7] She first came to Junior Nationals in Gwalior and at Chandigarh School Nationals and she was later admitted into national squad.[8] She made her Senior year debut when she was only 14 years, which made her the youngest player in the Indian Women's Hockey team. As she started to play professionally, GoSports Foundation, a sports non-governmental organization provided her with monetary and non-monetary support as her family found it hard to support her dreams financially.[9] She was part of Indian Hockey Team when the team qualified for 2016 Rio Olympics after 36 years.

Career

Rani played in the Champion's Challenge Tournament held in Kazan, Russia in June 2009 and powered India to a win by scoring 4 goals in the finals. She was adjudged "The Top Goal Scorer" and the "Young Player of the Tournament."[10]

She was instrumental in winning the silver medal for the Indian team in the Asia Cup held in Nov 2009. After playing with India's national team at 2010 Commonwealth Games and 2010 Asian Games, Rani Rampal was nominated in FIH Women's All-Star Team of 2010. She was nominated for ' young woman player of the year' award.[11] She was also included the All-Star team of the Asian Hockey Federation based on her performance in 2010 Asian Games at Guangzhou.

At the 2010 Women’s Hockey World Cup held in Rosario, Argentina, she scored a total of seven goals which placed India in the ninth position in World Women's hockey rankings. This is India's best performance since 1978. She is the only Indian to be nominated for the FIH Women's Young Player of the Year Award, 2010. She was conferred the "Best Young Player of the Tournament" award at the Women's Hockey World Cup 2010, recognizing her stellar performance as the top field goal scorer in the tournament.[12] She was awarded with the Arjuna award in 2016 which was like one of her dreams come true.[13]

She was also adjudged the 'Player of the Tournament' at the 2013 Junior World Cup which India finished with a bronze medal.[14] She has been named for FICCI Comeback of the Year Award 2014.[15] In 2013 Junior World Cup she made India won its first ever bronze medal at the event.[16]

She was part of 2017 Women's Asian Cup, and they also won the title second time in 2017 at Kakamigahara in Japan,[17] for the first time the trophy was brought in year 2004, due to this they got selected for world cup which was held in 2018.

She led the Indian women's hockey team as captain in 2018 Asian Games, where they won a silver medal and was India's flag-bearer for the closing ceremony of the games.[18]

She worked as Assistant Coach with Sports Authority Of India.[3]

References

1. "Rani Rampal". The Telegraph. Retrieved 26 January 2013.
2. "Rani Rampal profile". BBC. Retrieved 26 January 2013.
3. "Missing medal in Commonwealth Games still haunts me, says Rani Rampal". hindustantimes.com. 1 July 2018. Retrieved 28 July 2018.
4. "Why Rani Rampal, India's finest forward in women's hockey, struggles to survive". The Indian Express. 19 July 2015. Retrieved 28 July 2018.
5. "Padma Awards 2020 Announced". pib.gov.in.
6. Desk, The Hindu Net (26 January 2020). "Full list of 2020 Padma awardees". The Hindu.
7. "Haryana cart-puller's daughter is hockey's shining young star". The Indian Express. 6 August 2013. Retrieved 6 August 2013.
8. Sudevan, Praveen. "'2018 is the year for women's hockey to make a start': Interview with captain Rani Rampal". Scroll.in. Retrieved 28 July 2018.
9. "Rani named best young player at Women's Hockey World Cup". The Times of India. 13 September 2010.
10. "Home – FIH".
11. "Rani Ramphal among nominees". The Hindu. 30 October 2010. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 28 July 2018.
12. "Rani Rampal Wins 'Young Player of the Tournament'". Sportstrack. 15 September 2010. Archived from the original on 18 February 2013.
13. "Rani Rampal's Dream Comes True, Gets Arjuna Award". National Buzz. 1 September 2016. Retrieved 28 July 2018.
14. "India Eves Claim Historic Bronze Medal In The FIH Junior Women Hockey World Cup 2013". Hockey India. 5 August 2013. Retrieved 6 August 2013.
15. "FICCI announces the Winners of India Sports Awards for 2014". IANS. news.biharprabha.com. Retrieved 14 February 2014.
16. "Mee Rani Rampal – Daughter Of A Cart-Puller On Whom India's Women's Hockey Hopes Ride In Rio". indiatimes.com. Retrieved 28 July 2018.
17. "Indian women's hockey team wins 2017 Asia Cup title". Current Affairs Today. 6 November 2017. Retrieved 28 July 2018.
18. Tirkey, Joy (2 September 2018). "Asian Games 2018: Rani Rampal Named India's Flag-Bearer For Closing Ceremony". NDTV. Retrieved 3 September 2018.

External links

• Rani Rampal profile at Hockey India