Hockey India today appointed veteran striker Rani as the captain of the 16-member Olympic-bound Indian women’s hockey team. Rani is a clear choice not only 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 has achieved significant results over the last four years, including winning the Asia Cup in 2017, silver at the Asian Games 2018, silver in the Asian Champions Trophy 2018 as well as winning the FIH Series Finals in 2019. The team also made it to the quarter-finals of the FIH Women’s World Cup 2018 in London for the first time under the leadership of Rani. She was obsessed with India’s performance during the FIH Olympic Qualifiers in Bhubaneswar, where her goal took the team 6-5 against USA to qualify.
Hockey India also announced highly 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 almost a decade and have been an integral part of the leadership group. She was also instrumental in India’s exploits, which saw her achieve a career-best ranking of world No. 9 in 2018 after a strong performance at the FIH Women’s World Cup.
Congratulating all three players named for the leadership roles, Indian women’s team head coach Sjoerd Marijne said, “I congratulate Rani on being named the captain of the Indian women’s hockey team for the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020. I also congratulate Deep Grace Ekka and Savita. Named the vice-captain of the team. These three players have been a part of the leadership group for a long time and have proven their abilities with this added responsibility and have guided many youngsters in the core group. Having two Vice Captains will also strengthen the Core Leadership Group for the future. His experience and role will be important as we aim to achieve good results in Tokyo. It has been a long journey for the team and we are facing a tough challenge in the Olympics. The team needs to be mentally strong and I am sure these three players are moving in the right direction.”
Expressing her gratitude on being named the captain, Rani said, “It is a huge honor to lead the Indian team in the Olympic Games 2020. Over the years my role as a captain has become easier with the teammates, who have shared the responsibilities as senior players. I look forward to this additional responsibility and thank Hockey India, the coaching staff and the selectors for this honour.”
Vice-captain Deep Grace Ekka also said that this new responsibility will motivate him to ensure that the team does well in Tokyo. “It is a huge honor to lead India as the vice-captain in the Olympics and it will definitely motivate me to do well for the team. We have players from different regions of India in the team, but we have come closer as a unit during the pandemic in the last 15 months which has been challenging for everyone.”
Savita also expressed her gratitude saying, “I thank the team’s support staff and Hockey India for giving me this responsibility. We are all looking forward to doing well in the Olympics in Tokyo and it would be great to give India a good win.”
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