Hindustan Times: Rani fulfils a dream, a house for Rampals

By Vinayak Padmadeo

NEW DELHI: Money did not come easy in the Rampal household in Shahbad Markanda, a nursery of Indian hockey.
Rampal, father of Rani, India’s biggest name in women’s hockey, was a cart-puller and could hardly support his daughter’s passion for the game. So much so, providing her a pouch of milk daily became a big problem.
Those struggling years, while she was taking baby steps at the Shahbad Hockey Academy in Haryana under coach Baldev Singh, has left a mark on Rani.

“We were very poor, so the only thing on my mind was how not to spend on anything and just to save. I saved whatever prize money or cash prizes I used to get. The one and only dream I had was to build a house for my family,” she recalls.

That dream is about to come true. Her home is under construction in Shahbad. “Highway ke pas ban raha hai humara ghar (the house is coming up near the highway),” she says. It will be finished by year end.
Rani, who made her debut in the game as a 14-year-old, and has been a senior international for over seven years, started to spend on things other than essentials only two-three years ago.

“Everybody in the family knew how I liked to own a gold chain. But because we had no money and my Rs 12,000 job in Railways did not allow me to spend on anything, so I had to keep my wishes in check,” she says.

GOOD TIMES

But things changed after 2013. The India team won bronze in the Junior World Cup and finished third in the Asia Cup held in Kuala Lumpur.

“We got rewarded for those results. And I am thankful to the Haryana Government. If not for them, my dream wouldn’t have come anywhere close to being realised,” she says.

And her love of gold chain too. “I told my mother, I can’t wait any longer and I bought a gold chain for myself and a pair of gold earrings for my mother.”

This was the first time the player had spent this large an amount in one go.
“We are doing alright now. I have been employed as a coach with SAI and my salary is alright now.”
“But this doesn’t mean I’ll become reckless. I’ll keep saving for my later years when I stop playing.”