Former India women’s hockey team captain Rani Rampal is hopeful the Women’s Hockey India League (HIL) will set the platform for young girls to win national team berths for the 2032 Olympics in Brisbane and beyond. Talking to SAI Media in Rohtak recently, Rani feels the first edition of women’s HIL will “deliver big time going forward”, the same way the women’s version of the Indian Premier League did for cricket. The first-ever Women’s Hockey India League 2024-25, scheduled between January 12 and 26 in Ranchi, features four teams – Delhi SG Pipers, Odisha Warriors, Shrachi Rarh Bengal Tigers and Soorma Hockey Club.
Rani Rampal will serve as a mentor and coach of the Soorma Hockey Club of Punjab. This will be her maiden stint as a support staff. The 30-year-old from Haryana, who has played more than 250 international matches, feels HIL has come at the right time when women’s hockey is trying to make a turnaround after not qualifying for the Paris Olympics 2024.
“There may be four teams only this time but starting the league has been a long time coming. Hockey India needs to be complimented for this,” Rani told SAI Media, adding that this will be her first major step towards coaching the national team one day.
“The men’s hockey team won back-to-back bronze medals in the Olympics in Tokyo and Paris because the foundation was laid by the men’s Hockey India League years back. Now thanks to the introduction of the women’s HIL, we will get to see a lot of talented young women showcase their mettle in the 2032 and 2036 Olympics. This platform will turn out immensely fruitful,” she added.
HIL started in 2013 with six men’s teams. It was played for five years before shutting down largely for commercial reasons. It was revived after seven years with an additional women’s league.
Recalling the success of the women’s Indian Premier League (IPL) in terms of women’s cricket’s prominence, Rani continued, “Nobody knew much about women’s cricket, but now you see, how the sport has become so popular in the nation. Through the women’s IPL (WPL), people came to know about it and have started following the sport manifold.”
With the two veterans of Indian hockey in recent years – PR Sreejesh and Rani Rampal – taking up coaching assignments, Rani also wished the ‘Wall’ Sreejesh all the success he would bring forth as the Indian junior hockey team coach.
“Sreejesh has almost 20 years of international experience. The junior team will do very well because they will get to know how to perform in a high-level pressure situation,” said Rani.
Talking of coaching mindsets, Rani said she and Sreejesh had a few things in common. “I also want to share the same knowledge and experience with the youngsters during the women’s HIL so that they can be helped emotionally and mentally. We have to bring the best out of them.”
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