Ritu Rani retires from international hockey

A couple of months after being axed from the Indian women's team for the Olympics, 24-year-old Ritu Rani has announced her retirement from international hockey.

Ritu Rani captained India to a bronze medal at the 2014 Incheon Asian Games and a silver medal at the 2013 Asian Champions Trophy.

Former Indian women’s hockey captain Ritu Rani has retired from international hockey, two months after she was removed from the Rio-bound women's Olympics squad.

Ritu, who was axed owing to “attitude” issues, was included in the 29 probables for the national camp which began in Bhopal on Sunday. The 24-year-old midfielder seemingly hasn’t quite been able to come to terms with the Olympic axing and decided to call time on her international career.

“We got a mail from Ritu Rani 2-3 days back stating that she will not be able to join the national camp as she is retiring from international hockey,” Hockey India president Narinder Batra told PTI . “It is her personal decision and we at Hockey India respect her decision. Hockey India would like to thank her for her service to the game and the nation,” he said.

However, repeated calls to Ritu went answered.

It was under Ritu’s captaincy that the Indian women qualified for the Rio Olympics after a gap of 36 years. It was also under her captaincy that the national team had won a bronze medal at the 2014 Incheon Asian Games and a silver medal at the 2013 Asian Champions Trophy.

After being left out of the Olympics squad, Ritu got married to a Patiala-based Punjabi singer, Harsh Sharma on August 18.