Was rejected as I was malnourished: Rani Rampal on her hockey journey

Rani Rampal, captain of the Indian women’s hockey team, has a lot to cherish after India’s historic win against the three-time champion Australian women’s hockey team. As she gets closer to realising her Olympic dream of winning the gold medal for the team, she talked to The Humans of Bombay about her plans to repay her family and coach for all that they’ve done for her throughout the journey so far.

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“I’m determined to repay them [her family] and coach with something they’ve always dreamed of- a gold medal from Tokyo,” she told HOB.

The 26-year-old made history by becoming the youngest player in the national women’s hockey team to participate in the 2010 World Cup at the age of 15 when she was incapable of affording even a single hockey stick.

“I wanted an escape from my life; from the electricity shortages to the mosquitoes buzzing in our ear when we slept, from barely having two square meals to seeing our home getting flooded when it rained,” she said.

She further recalled longing to join the Hockey academy near her home in the early days of her career, but being unable to afford the same as her father earned Rs 80 a day, while her mother worked as a house help. “Every day, I’d ask the coach to teach me too. He’d reject me because I was malnourished,” Rani added.

That’s when she found a broken hockey stick and started practising on her own. This was followed by countless efforts of convincing the coach to train her, finally landing her as his trainee.

The trainees at the academy were required to bring 500 ml of milk daily. “My family could only afford milk worth 200 ml; without telling anyone, I’d mix the milk with water and drink it because I wanted to play,” Rani told Humans of Bombay.

But her Hockey coach was a godsend and helped her at every step of the way. “He’d buy me hockey kits and shoes. He even allowed me to live with his family and took care of my dietary needs. I’d train hard and wouldn’t miss a single day of practice,” she remembered.

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On winning Rs 500 after her first tournament win, she handed the money to her father. “He hadn’t ever held so much money in his hands before. I promised my family, ‘One day, we’re going to have our own home’; I did everything in my power to work towards that,” she said.

She landed a spot in the national team at the age of 15, after winning several state championships. Dreams do come true, for Rani fulfilled her promise four years ago and bought a home for her family. ” We cried together and held each other tightly! And I’m not done yet; this year, I’m determined to repay them and Coach with something they’ve always dreamed of- a gold medal from Tokyo,” she said.

Rani Rampal story has struck a chord with social media users for all the right reasons. It goes on to prove that one does not need anything other than grit and determination to achieve their dream, which at some point seemed almost impossible.