Hockey India on Monday named veteran striker Rani as the Captain of the 16-member Olympic-bound Indian Women’s Hockey Team.
Xtra Time Web Desk: Hockey India on Monday named veteran striker Rani as the Captain of the 16-member Olympic-bound Indian Women’s Hockey Team. Rani is the obvious choice not just for her on-field exploits but also for her innate ability to guide the youngsters in the team.
Under Rani’s Captaincy, the Indian team over the past four years have achieved significant results including winning the Asia Cup in 2017, Winning Silver at the Asian Games 2018, Silver at Asian Champions Trophy 2018 as well winning the FIH Series Final in 2019. The team led by Rani also made it to the quarterfinals of the FIH Women’s World Cup 2018 in London for the first time. She was the cynosure of India’s performance during the FIH Olympic Qualifiers in Bhubaneswar where her goal put the team ahead by 6-5 against USA to secure the qualification.
Hockey India also announced the very dependable defender Deep Grace Ekka and experienced goalkeeper Savita as the two Vice Captains of the Women’s Team. Both the players have been in the Indian Core Group for nearly a decade and have been an integral part of the leadership group. They also played a key role in India’s feats which saw them attain career best ranking of World No.9 in 2018 following a strong performance at the FIH Women’s World Cup.
Expressing her gratitude on being named Captain, Rani said, “It is a huge honour to lead the Indian Team at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020. In these past years my role as a Captain was made easy with teammates who have shared the responsibilities as senior players. I look forward to this added responsibility and thank Hockey India, Coaching staff and selectors for this honour.”