Athlete of The Year 2019 winner Rani Rampal earns SAI promotion

In honour of her achievement after winning the ‘World Games Athlete of the Year’ award, Indian women’s hockey team captain Rani Rampal was on Friday presented with an out-of-turn promotion from the Sports Authority of India (SAI).

Toppling all the 25 athletes who were nominated in the category, the Indian skipper won with a massive 199,477 votes. In Rani’s case, the FIH had recommended her name for the award for her outstanding performances and her ability to lead by example. The winner was decided through an online polling system which closed on January 30. The voting rules were quite interesting, where one could vote for his/her favourite candidate once every 24 hours.

As a result, Rani, who joined SAI as an assistant coach in 2015, has been promoted to the post of a coach (Level-10), with immediate effect. The Union Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports Kiren Rijiju told PTI, “As an organisation, the welfare of sportspersons is SAI’s primary concern. It is the government’s duty to provide the best facilities to athletes and motivate them to perform better. Ensuring that our athletes have a sound financial standing is of immense importance. This is our way of appreciating Rani for all that she has contributed to the country.”

Rani helped India qualify for the Tokyo Olympics with a decisive goal against the USA in FIH Olympic Qualifiers. It will be the first time that the team will participate in two consecutive Games. She also led the Indian team that won a silver in the 2018 Asian Games. She is a recipient of Arjuna Award in 2016 and she was named as a Padma Shri awardee by the government on the eve of the country's 71st Republic Day.

Also read: Rani Rampal wins the World Games Athlete of the Year 2019

This is the sixth edition of the WGA initiative that recognises and honours an athlete or a team for their outstanding performance or for their social commitment or particularly, fair behaviour. Athletes like Muhammad Anas Yahiya, Sharad Kumar, OP Jaisha, Savita Punia and Ashwini Akkunji are among the athletes who are currently posted as coaches in SAI.

"It has been SAI's constant endeavour to support athletes at all stages of their sporting career. This not only includes inducting them into SAI schemes and training centres from a young age and then supporting their careers when they become elite sportspersons, but also preparing them for a career after sport," the SAI said in a release.