The Olympic
bronze medallist Rupinder Pal Singh announced his retirement from
international hockey on Thursday.  In a 13 year long
career he represented India in 223 matches. He was also an integral part of
this year Tokyo Olympics where his team ended a 41 year medal drought for the
eight time Olympic champions. The 30 year old is popularly known as one of the
best drag flickers in the world.
Also Read: Indian star Rupinder Pal Singh retires from international hockey

Rupinder
announced his retirement through his official twitter handle and he also believes  that it is the right time to take retirement to give chances for young and talented players

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Rupinder’s
journey from Faridkot in Punjab to the Tokyo event was fraught with
difficulties and comebacks.

Shortly
after making his international debut in May 2010 at the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup
in Ipoh, Rupinder became a key figure in India’s backline with VR Raghunath,
creating a combination of deadly dragflick.

In addition
to his fearless defense, Rupinder was a ‘go-to’ man for any skipper of the penalty corner and spot conditions.

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During the India’s
bronze-medal winning campaign at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics Rupinder managed to
score three crucial goals. In his three goals tally included a penalty stroke
in the crucial third place match against Germany. He was considered as a one of
the pillars of the Indian defence which played a important role in the India’s
dream run at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. 

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Here are some of his achievements:

Rupinder Pal
Singh won gold in the Asian Championship Trophy held in Ordos City in 2011.
Later, he won Silver at the Asian Championship Trophy in Doha, the silver medal
at the Asia Cup held in 2013 in Ipoh, the Bagged Gold medal at Asian Games 2014
held at Incheon. Also, he won gold at the 2016 Asian Championship Trophy in
Kuantan Malaysia, a bronze medal at the 2018 Asian Games in Jakarta.