Rani Rampal: Cart Puller's Daughter Who Is Now the Star of Indian Hockey Team

Rani Rampal, current captain of the Indian Women's Hockey Team, is already a veteran with 134 goals in 212 international appearances at just the age of 23. She hails from Kurukshetra district of Haryana and belongs to a poor family. Her parents refused to let her play hockey because she was a girl. She used to cry every day in front of them so that she could take out her passion on the field. Most of the refusal stemmed because of the society. But they soon saw the spark in Rampal that was unusual and exciting at the same time. And now they live in a modern house gifted by her.

Hers is a true rag to riches story. At 15, she was a teenager when she made it into the Indian hockey team. She is the youngest player to have made it into the Indian National Women's Hockey Team. And 8 years later, she is now all set to lead the team at the upcoming World Cup in London. And the journey was quite remarkable. At the 2010 Women's Hockey held in Argentina, she scored 7 goals and placed India in ninth position at the rankings. This was one of the best performances of Indian since 1978. At 2013 World Cup, she was instrumental in getting India its first ever bronze medal at the tournament.

She was awarded the prestigious Arjuna Award in 2016 for the contributions she made to hockey till now. She has also worked as an assistant coach with Sports Authority of India.

By: Neha Maheshwari
Content: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rani_Rampal