Hockey
Who is Rani Rampal? Age, Records, Biography, Medal, Olympics performance
Let's take a look at Rani's life and career ahead of the Tokyo Olympics.
Rani Rampal (Source: Hockey India)
Indian hockey sensation Rani Rampal is one of the best female hockey players in the world, and She is known for her ability to score game-changing goals, such as the one that helped India qualify for the Tokyo Olympics.
She made her debut as a 14-year-old in the Olympic qualifiers, becoming India's youngest hockey player ever to start for the National Team.
How Old is Rani Rampal?
Rani Rampal, who is 26 years old, was born in Shahabad Village in Haryana's Kurukshetra district in 1994. Rani, who grew up idolising the renowned Dhanraj Pillay, began training at a local academy when she was six years old. Rani experienced plenty of difficulties, ranging from a financial crisis to societal stigma. Despite this, she went on to lead the Indian Women's Hockey Team. It all started to pay off once she made it to the national team.
What are Rani Rampal's achievements?
Rani Rampal was named "Young Player of the Tournament" in 2009 after earning the most points in the FIH Women's Champions Challenge II, and she also won silver at the 2009 Asia Cup as a part of the Indian squad.
Rani was named 'Young Player of the Tournament' in the 2010 World Cup and in the Junior World Cup 2013, and she later assisted the squad in winning bronze at the 2014 Asian Games.
Under her captaincy, the team won a silver medal at the Asian Games in 2018, progressed to the World Cup quarter-finals. She was the Indian contingent's flag bearer during the closing ceremony of the 2018 Jakarta Asian Games. In the same year, the team finished fourth in the commonwealth games.
In 2016, she was honoured with the Arjuna Award. Also, in 2020, the Government of India honoured her with the Padma Shri award.
Performance in Olympics
Rani made a strong impact in Rio 2016, as the Indian women's team made their long-awaited return to the Olympic stage, she scored two goals in the opening match against Japan.
Rani played in all of India's Olympic group games, after which her growing prominence led to her appointment as the captain of the national team immediately after the team came home from Rio 2016.
She was in great form throughout 2019, bringing her team to the Tokyo Olympics. Rani hopes to bring home a medal for her team and the country at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
