Indian hockey icon shares her heartfelt dream of seeing Indian women’s hockey team win Olympic medal

(MENAFN) Indian hockey icon Rani Rampal has shared her heartfelt dream of seeing the Indian women’s hockey team win an Olympic medal. In a conversation with actor Anupam Kher on RT’s Let’s Talk Bharat, Rampal reflected on her journey from poverty to becoming one of India’s most celebrated female athletes.

Rampal fell in love with hockey at the age of seven after watching girls train at a nearby academy. With encouragement from her mentor, coach Sardar Baldev Singh, she defied social norms and economic hardships to pursue the sport, despite her parents’ initial disapproval. Coming from a humble background in Haryana, where her father was a cart-puller and her mother worked as a domestic helper, Rampal’s path was anything but easy.

She fondly recalled receiving a 10-rupee note from her coach as a reward for scoring a goal. “At that age, it felt like winning an Olympic medal,” she said, though she later had to spend it to buy milk for her family.

Rampal’s rise was rapid. At just 14, she represented India at the 2008 Olympic qualifiers in Russia, and a year later, she made her World Cup debut, becoming the youngest Indian player to do so. Her leadership brought the team to major achievements: a World Cup quarterfinal finish in 2018, a silver at the Asian Games the same year, and a near podium finish at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

In October 2024, Rampal retired after a remarkable 16-year career. Now focusing on coaching, her goal is clear: “I want to see my Indian team at the Olympic podium one day.”

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