Tokyo Olympics

It was a watershed moment for Indian hockey as the women’s hockey team  beat Australia 1-0 in a pulsating quarter-final match to storm into the semifinals of the Tokyo Olympics for the first time in their history.

Listen to what Indian women’s hockey team captain Rani Rampal has to say about how she got there:

“I wanted an escape from my life; from the electricity shortages, to the mosquitoes buzzing in our ear when we slept, from barely having two square meals to seeing our home getting flooded when it rained. My parents tried their best, but there was only so much they could do. Papa was a cart puller and Maa worked as a maid.

“There was a hockey academy near my home, so I’d spend hours watching players practice – I really wanted to play. Papa would earn Rs. 80 a day and couldn’t afford to buy me a stick. Everyday, I’d ask the coach to teach me too. He’d reject me because I was malnourished. He’d say, ‘You aren’t strong enough to pull through a practice session.’

“So, I found a broken hockey stick on the field and began practicing with that– I didn’t have training clothes, so I was running around in a salwar kameez. But I was determined to prove myself. I begged the coach for a chance – maine bahut mushkil se convince kiya unko finally! (I managed to finally convince him with great difficulty.)

“But when I told my family, they said, ‘Ladkiya ghar ka kaam hi karti hai,’ (girls only do domestic work) and ‘Hum tumhe skirt pehen kar khelne nahi denge. (We cannot allow you to play wearing a skirt)’. I’d plead with them saying, ‘Please mujhe jaane do (please let me go). If I fail, I’ll do whatever you want.’ My family reluctantly gave in”.