Namita Toppo congratulated on landmark by Hockey India

The midfielder won her 150th international cap when India took on England at the Women’s World Cup.

Namita Toppo (left) began her international career in 2011.

Indian midfielder Namita Toppo was congratulated by Hockey India (HI) for having played 150 international matches. Toppo reached the milestone when the Indian women’s team took the field against England at the World Cup on Saturday.

Md. Mushtaque Ahmad, Secretary General, Hockey India, said, “I would like to congratulate Namita Toppo on completing 150 international caps for India. She is a player who brings stability to India’s midfield and helps the team in transitioning from defence to attack quickly. Her contribution during the six years since making her debut has been immense and has seen her win many medals. I would like to wish Namita the very best for the future and hope that she keeps contributing to the team’s victories.”

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Namita first represented her State team in 2007 and her performances in the domestic competitions were rewarded with a spot in the Indian team for the U-18 Hockey Asia Cup in Bangkok, in 2011. The team won the bronze medal.

Namita’s hard work and consistent performances in the domestic circuit paid dividends as she was selected to represent the senior team a year later, for the FIH Champions Challenge I in Dublin, where she made her international debut. In 2013, Namita became part of the Indian junior team which won the bronze medal at the Junior World Cup 2013 in Mengladbach.

‘Extremely proud’

The 23-year-old from Odisha has since participated in major tournaments like FIH World League Round 2 and the Asian Champions trophy in 2013. She has also participated in the Asia Cup in 2013, the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, the Asian Games (also in 2014), the Rio Olympics in 2016 and most recently, the Asia Cup last year.

Namita said, “I feel extremely proud to have represented the nation for 150 international matches. For me, it is just a start as I am quite young and I look forward to playing many more games for the country. It is a promising phase for women’s hockey in India and it is important for us to perform well and keep winning trophies to make the fans proud of our team.”