Rani Rampal named the captain of the 16-member Olympic-bound Indian women's hockey team, announced the Hockey India on Monday.
Besides Rampal, defender Deep Grace Ekka and goalkeeper Savita were also announced as the two vice-captains. Both the players have been part of the Indian core group for almost a decade. They played a key role in attaining a career-best ranking of World No 9 in 2018 following a strong performance at the FIH Women's World Cup.
Expressing her gratitude after being assigned as the women's Hockey team captain, Rani said that it's a "huge honour" to lead the Indian team at the Olympic Games.
"In these past years, my role as a captain was made easy with teammates who have shared the responsibilities as senior players," she said.
While congratulating the three players chief coach Sjoerd Marijne said that all three players have been part of the "leadership group" for a long time and guided many "youngsters in the core group".
"Their experience and role will be of importance as we aim to achieve good results in Tokyo,” he added.
Here’s what we know about the women’s Hockey team captain Rani Rampal:
-Rani Rampal, who hails from Shahbad, Haryana, was the youngest player in the national team which participated in the 2010 World Cup.
-She began her training at the Shahabad Hockey Academy and got into the local team when she was a six-year-old.
-Rampal made her debut in India’s women’s hockey team at the age of 15.
-The veteran striker was the only Indian to be nominated for the FIH Women's Young Player of the Year Award, 2010.
-Later, she led Team India in the Women's Asia Cup in 2017 and bagged the silver medal at the 2018 Asian Games.
-In the FIH Women's World Cup 2018, Rani also led the team to the quarter-finals for the first time.
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