Indian Express recently shared a few sisterhood stories from inside the Indian hockey team’s dressing room. Amidst prepping themselves for national-level tournaments and world cups, the girls often like to share their stories with one another.
One such story is of Rani Rampal from Shahabad (Haryana) who faced extreme opposition from her relatives and society. Her parents (father is a horse-cart puller and mother is a housewife) were abused for letting their daughter practice a ‘man’s game’ and wear short skirts. Then 14, Rani took it up as a challenge to become the breadwinner of her family and fight the sexism rising around her. Interestingly, it was player Sushila Chanu’s story that fuelled Rani’s determination. “I wanted to be like Sushila and lift my family out of poverty,” remembers Rani, now a brilliant Skipper.
Rani met Sushila (the talented defender from Manipur) in 2013, whose story took the former by surprise. Rani recalls, “I remember Sushila was giving an interview where she said how her family and neighborhood encouraged her to play hockey. I thought, ‘can this really happen?’” She was shocked as she learned about a community that encourages girls to take up education and sports instead of just doing the household chores.
Today, Rani holds the record for Indian hockey’s youngest international debut, aged 14. When she was 15, she was the youngest player to play in a women’s World Cup. Apart from this, she scored seven goals in the quadrennial tournament in Rosario in 2010, including scoring two goals in one minute against South Africa. That year, she was included in the International Hockey Federation’s team of the year.
About her journey and that of Rani’s, Sushila says, “I come from a very different social set-up. In most languages across the North-East, the most useful things are referred to in feminine terms. I feel lucky to be born here. From an early age, we are given the freedom to do what we want. That’s the reason we are seen to be more creative. Maybe that reflects in our game. I guess that’s also why players from Haryana have a strong urge to prove themselves. They have always been told you can’t do this – look at Rani, she has achieved everything a player can!” She makes a valid point, doesn’t she?
It was former women’s team coach Sjoerd Marijne, now with the men’s side, who noticed the strong bond connecting the girls. For example, when Rani was asked to take care of a young player Lalremsiami from Mizoram, she immediately agreed to be her big sister. Since the time Siami was 16, Rani has been giving her training lessons – both in the game and in the Hindi language.
The current coach, Harendra Singh, says, “Siami was made Rani’s room partner. Rani was more or less the same age when she made her debut, so we thought she’ll be able to understand her emotions better.”
About the team-spirit, Harendra says, “The girls understand each other’s struggles. A girl from Manipur empathizes with the pressure a girl from Haryana faces while the Haryanvi girl realizes the hurdles a player from the North-East has to overcome to make it to the national team. They want to win for the other person, that’s what makes them an exceptional team.”
h/t: Indian Express