Rani Rampal's top five contributions to Indian women's hockey

The forward has scored 117 goals in 250 appearances for the country.

Rani Rampal is one of the stars of the Indian Women’s Hockey team and the former captain of the national team. The forward has made close to 250 International appearances for India and has scored 117 goals. Known for her lethality in front of the goal she has been one of India’s premium goalscorers over the years.

Rani Rampal made her debut for the Indian senior team back in 2009 at the young age of 14 and was already representing India in the 2010 World Cup at the age of 15. The former captain has been an integral part of all the success achieved by the national team over the last decade and a half. The 27-year-old has also collected many individual accolades along the way including the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna award and the Padma Shri Award.

Here is a look at Rani Rampal’s top five biggest contributions to Indian Women’s Hockey:

5. Top scorer in Women’s Hockey Champions Challenge II

India won the inaugural edition of the Women’s Hockey Champions Challenge II held in Russia back in June 2009. Rani Rampal, then a newbie to the senior team played an integral part in that victory. The forward scored seven goals and ended up being the top scorer of the tournament. The final was played between India and Belgium in which India emerged victorious 6-3. Rampal scored four goals in the final. She also scored a brace in India’s 8-1 win against Canada in the group stages.

4. Won the Young Player of the Tournament in the 2010 World Cup

The 2010 Women’s Hockey World Cup held in Argentina wasn’t the best of campaigns for the Indian team as they crashed out in the group stages and finished ninth in the tournament overall. However, Rani Rampal who was playing in her first World Cup at the age of 15 had a good World Cup individually. The forward scored five of the seven goals that India scored in the group stages. She also scored twice in India’s 4-3 win against South Africa for the ninth and tenth-place face-off. Rampal ended up winning the “Young Player of the Tournament” award for her brilliant efforts.

3. Led India to its only medal in the Junior World Cup

The 2013 Women’s Hockey Junior World Cup held in Germany saw India win its first medal and only medal in the Junior World Cup. India finished third that year and claimed the bronze medal. Again Rani Rampal played an integral role in that success scoring four goals throughout the tournament. Rampal also scored India’s only goal in the third-place play-off against England where India ended up winning on penalties. Her performance saw her being named the - Player of the Tournament.

2. Led India to victory in Asia Cup 2017

In 2017, India won the Asia Cup held in Japan under the captainship of Rani Rampal. It was India’s second Asia Cup Success in their history. The forward scored three goals in the entire campaign. In final India won against China on penalties and the Indian skipper scored twice in the penalty shoot-out. Rampal also scored a brace in India’s 10-0 win against Singapore.

1. First Indian Women Captain in 40 years to lead Indian team to the Olympics semifinals

The Tokyo Olympics turned out to be a memorable one for Indian hockey. The Men’s Hockey team won a medal for the first time in 40 years while the Women’s team just missed out on a medal finishing fourth. Rani Rampal, the captain, led the Indian Women’s team to their best finish in 40 years. The forward scored one goal throughout the campaign. India missed out on a podium finish after losing the third-place playoffs against Great Britain 4-3. Despite the loss, this campaign turned out to be a historic one for Indian Women’s hockey.