Who are India’s top 10 highest goalscorers in women’s hockey?

These players have scored multiple goals for India across various tournaments.

Indian women's hockey has seen good growth over the past few years. The junior set-up in the country has been progressing at a good pace. The 2013 Junior World can be attributed as a successful one with many transitioning into the senior setup.

Indian women's team has won Asian Games and Commonwealth Games once but not in recent times. For the past two decades, the team has been in the transitioning phase where the team couldn't qualify for the Olympics as well. But after the appointment of Sjoerd Marijne, the team transformed well with high-level fitness which was lacking.

At the 2020 Tokyo Olympics India finished 4th closely missing out on the bronze medal but put up a good show after losing three matches on the trot initially. The forwards have developed their game matching it with the world standards. There are quite a lot of youngsters who are ruthless and score goals with ease.

In this article, let us have a look at the top Indian women's goal scorers:

5. Lalremsiami (29)

Lalremsiami is a bright talent for the Indian team. She has had success both at the junior and senior levels. Lalremsiami was part of the 2018 Youth Olympic Games held in Buenos Aires where India finished 2nd. In 2020 she received the rising star of the year award.

She took part in the Junior World Cup held recently and was part of the midfield.

4. Navneet Kaur (34)

Navneet Kaur made her debut way back in 2012 and since has been part of the 2013 Junior World Cup squad and the Asian and Commonwealth Games. Recently she made her 100th appearance for India against the Dutch team winning the player of the match award.

Navneet Kaur's solo run upfront is a treat to watch.

3. Gurjit Kaur (82)

Gurjit Kaur is one of the best drag flickers India has ever produced. In the 124 matches played Kaur has scored 82 goals. She was the top goal scorer in the 2017 Asia Cup on her debut tour. She was also named the women's hockey player of the year 2020-21 season.

One of her most iconic goals was the one she scored against Australia in the quarter-finals at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. That helped India reach the semi-finals at the Olympics in women’s hockey for the first time.

2. Vandana Katariya (83)

Vandana Katariya has been with the Indian team for more than 13 years making her debut in 2009. She has the knack for scoring goals and forms a good combo with Rani Rampal. Vandana Katariya was the top scorer at the 2013 Junior World Cup.

She has taken part in numerous tournaments in Commonwealth Games 2022 and was part of the Indian team. More than 7 players from the 2013 Junior World Cup were part of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Vandana Katariya also happens to be the first Indian woman to score a hat-trick at the Olympics. She netted it against South Africa in a 4-3 victory, that aided her side in qualifying from the group stages.

1. Rani Rampal (117)

Rani Rampal made her debut at the age of 15 way back in 2009 and since then has been the backbone of the Indian team. She is one of the few players to cross 200 caps for the country and at present has 250 caps. Only 27, she can look to surpass Dilip Tirkey's record of playing 400 matches.

The talented Indian striker was also the first from India to be declared the World Athlete of the Year in 2019 which is indeed a great achievement. The Govt of India for her success has also awarded her the Padma Shri the 4th highest honour.

Rani has a good presence in-game reading the opponents well and getting to the right positions in the attack and creating good opportunities to score goals. She was an integral part of the team when India finished credible 4th at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

After the Tokyo Olympics Rampal got injured and her absence from the field could be felt at the CWG and the World Cup, showing how important a member she is to the team.