BHUBANESWAR: Hailing from a small town of Shahabad Markanda in Haryana’s Kurukshetra district, Rani Rampal was introduced to hockey at the age of six. Despite odds, she made her debut for the senior India women’s team when she was 14, becoming the youngest to do so.
She has risen in stature since and become captain of the team. Under her, Indian women have achieved many milestones. The most remarkable of those was winning the Asian Cup in 2017 after 13 years. The team is here for a two-week camp before the Olympic qualifiers against USA slated for November 1 and 2. Excerpts...
Who do you owe you success to?
What I am today is because of the support of my parents and coach (Dronacharya) Sardar Baldev Singh. He trained me at the Shahabad Hockey Academy and supported me during crisis. From the academy more than 80 players have represented the nation. Among them are Ritu Rani, Sandeep Singh, Suman Bala, Sandeep Kaur, Rajni Bala, Surinder Kaur and many more.
Do you feel pressure?
In life or sports, I never consider pressure to be a negative factor. It’s an opportunity for me. Under pressure you can produce your best. It’s like an exam. If you are well prepared, you never feel the pressure inside the exam hall. For us as a team, we are preparing for the last last one year with eye on these matches on November 1 and 2. We are well equipped to face any opponent at this ground. No doubt there is pressure from inside and outside. Otherwise, we will not realise the importance of such a big match.
What are your dreams?
At present there is only one dream and that is to qualify for the Tokyo Olympics. We realise that this dream is backed by the people of our nation. The team is at its peak now in terms of physical strength, speed and coordination. Our team has won laurels. Hockey India is giving importance to the women’s game.
How were your formative years?
My upbringing was in a place where young girls were restricted to the four walls of a house. So when I expressed my wish to play hockey, it was not easy for my parents. My relatives would often tell my father, ‘What would she do playing hockey? She will run around the field wearing small dresses and spoil the reputation of your family’. I started playing with a dream to get a decent job and build a house for my family. It was not a small dream for a daughter of a cart-puller, who transported bricks in his cart for others to built their houses. I got my first employment in Indian Railways. Now I am an assistant coach with the Sports Authority of India and I built a house for my parents in Shahabad in 2016. It has the five Olympic rings on the top.
Has perception changed?
The perception towards women are changing fast. Maybe after a decade we will not discuss women’s empowerment. Indian women have the potential to dominate the world. People should give them freedom to choose their profession. At the Olympics, Karnam Malleswari (weightlifting), Mary Kom (boxing), Saina Newhwal, PV Sindhu (badminton) and Sakshi Malik (wrestling) made the country proud. I will ask all parents to support their daughters.