Rani Rampal has led the women's hockey team to a historic fourth-place finish at the Tokyo Olympics, helping them build a legacy
Rani Rampal, India’s women hockey team captain
Image: Madhu Kapparath; Suit: Rohit Gandhi and Rahul Khanna; Jewellery: Zoya ; Styled by: Ankit Mishra; Location courtesy: ITC Maurya
Rani Rampal doesn’t pause when asked if hockey was ever just a game for her. “Never,” she says. “I took it seriously right from the beginning and always wanted to make a name for myself.”
As a trainee at the Shahabad Hockey Academy, a nursery for women’s hockey in Haryana, the game began as an escape from abject poverty (her father was a cart-puller)—“I realised if I did well, it could change my life.” And now, for the captain of the women’s team that finished a historic fourth at the recent Tokyo Games, hockey is a pursuit of the Olympic motto of Citius, Altius, Fortius (faster, higher, stronger)—be it through that extra yard of sprint in practice, or leading the team from nowhere to within sniffing distance of a medal.
(This story appears in the 03 December, 2021 issue of Forbes India. To visit our Archives, click here.)