Indian Hockey: Former Hockey Captain Ritu Rani expresses grief over not getting much recognition

A Story by Jasmine Kaur

INTRODUCTION

Ritu Rani is an Indian field hockey player and former captain of the national team.  In an interview which was conducted by Mypencildotcom Magazine, she expressed her grief at not getting much recognition as a sportsperson. She said, “A very few numbers of people are aware that I’m an Indian hockey team captain. Neither we nor our matches are highlighted as compared to other sports”.  

She further told that social media has brought a change in the life of everyone. Hockey players are being highlighted and even the audience gets all the updates about the upcoming events through Instagram and Facebook pages and also matches are going live on TV channels as well. Players get support and motivation through all these methods.

Moreover, she said that they get all the facilities at the international level but these facilities are somewhere ignored at the grassroots level. Proper diet and equipment should be provided at the grassroots level so that players can improve themselves and perform better.

HOW DID HER JOURNEY BEGIN?

While talking about her journey, Ritu Rani said that she wasn’t interested in hockey. Her brother who is also a hockey player was very interested in hockey and always wanted to join the hockey team. Her brother used to go for training. Sardar Baldev Singh Ji was his coach and one day when he came to know about Ritu, he told her brother to bring her along with him. At first, she refused but then her family supported her, and then she joined hockey. 

CONCLUSION 

She also faced some problems from her relatives when she started playing hockey but her family was always there to support her and now, she is such a great hockey player. Additionally, she wanted her daughter to be a hockey player as a sportsperson. She often gives training and also uploads her videos on a YouTube channel.