Rani Rampal, one of India's greatest ever sportspersons, played a pivotal role in improving the standards of the women's hockey team. Her career began at age 14 in 2009 and culminated in India's fourth-place finish at the Tokyo Olympics, where she was the captain. The stats - 205 goals in 254 international matches - underline her legendary status as a player, but her true value lies in the fact that it's been three years since she last played regularly for India - and it's a hole the national team is struggling to fill even now.
How it started for Rani To understand Rani the player, it's also important to know her journey. Born in small-town Haryana, Rani came from a family of limited means, where eating two meals a day was itself a luxury. Her father was a cart puller, and her mother a domestic help.
Their meagre income was far from enough to sustain their daughter's hockey dream. But Rani fell in love with the sport early on and there was no looking back. She convinced her family that hockey is her calling and also her Dronacharya award-winning coach Baldev Singh who once told her that she's too thin and brittle to take up hockey.
The early rejection and the family hardships only fueled her ambition. Once she stepped on the pitch and started playing regularly for the local academy, her talent was evident, and she went from sub junior level to international hockey in a quick time. The start of her international career She was only 14 when she wore the senior national team je.
