I waited for many years for women’s HIL, but now will serve in a different role: Rani Rampal

Rani, who captained India to a historic fourth place finish at the Tokyo Olympics, will be the mentor and coach of Soorma Hockey Club of Punjab and Haryana in the women’s HIL which will make its debut later this year.

New Delhi, 27/03/2023. Rani Rampal ( Asian Games Silver Medalist - Hockey ) during the Sportstar National Sports Conclave in New Delhi on Monday, March 27, 2023. Photo: | Photo Credit: R. V. Moorthy / The Hindu

Rani Rampal waited for the women’s Hockey India League as a player for years but now that the league will finally see the light of the day, the former India captain will wear a different hat.

Rani, who captained India to a historic fourth place finish at the Tokyo Olympics, will be the mentor and coach of Soorma Hockey Club of Punjab and Haryana in the women’s HIL which will make its debut later this year.

“Hockey is my passion and I played my entire career with that. It was always in my mind that I will definitely accept any opportunity to serve Indian hockey. Hockey was always on my mind,” Rani said on the sidelines of the HIL women’s auction here on Tuesday.

“I tried a lot to make a comeback in the national team but could not do so before the Paris Olympics. I had waited for many years for this women’s league and when it started, it felt very good to be a part of the coaching staff and not as a player,” said the 30-year-old Padma Shri awardee, who has scored 134 goals in 212 matches for India.

Asked why she opted out of the league as she had not officially announced her retirement yet, Rani said: “I am a female player and I have faced a lot of struggles. A player is always a player. The desire to play never ends.

“But sometimes you have to make a difficult decision and I decided to join the coaching staff.

“It is difficult to talk about retirement right now. Now I will face a new challenge in the league and after that I will take a final decision.’‘ Rani admitted that India’s failure to qualify for the Paris Olympics was a setback for women’s hockey in the country, but said there is no point in thinking about the past now.

“Finishing fourth at the Tokyo Olympics was a watershed moment for Indian women’s hockey. It took many years for this and the players, federation, and coaches worked very hard.

“We did not qualify for Paris which was a big setback but there is a new learning in sports every day. Winning and losing are part of the game,” she said.

“No team wants to lose. We cannot change the past but now we have to look for 2028. The first goal should be to win gold in the 2026 Asian Games and qualify directly for the Olympics. The women’s league can be very helpful in preparing a pool of players.” Rani also lauded the appointment of Harendra Singh as the women’s team coach.

‘’The good thing is Harendra Sir has returned as a coach with whom I have played a lot of hockey. The biggest advantage with him is that he knows our culture and language. Many of our players come from rural areas and they understand when we talk to them in Hindi,” she said.

“Harendra Sir always thinks of winning for the country and instills the same feeling in players. Language is a great medium to touch the hearts of the players and we are sure that under Harendra Sir, the team will do well in 2028 Los Angles Olympics.” Talking about the auction, Rani admitted that the purse in the first season of the women’s league is small but remains optimistic.

“The purse for the auction is less but the first step is always difficult. Same is the case with Hockey India but hopefully more teams will come forward and the purse will also increase,” she said.

“Our players come from very humble backgrounds so this league will help them a lot financially too.” The four teams in the first season of HIL Women’s League are Soorma Hockey Club, Shrachi Rarh Bengal Tigers, Delhi SG Pipers and Odisha Warriors.

The teams have been given a cap of Rs 2 crore in the auction, while the players have been divided into three prices slabs -- Rs 10 lakh, Rs 5 lakh and Rs 2 lakh.