Former Indian women’s hockey captain Ritu Rani, who was dropped from the team for the Rio Olympics citing “attitude” issues, has been named among the 29 probables for the National camp beginning on Sunday in Bhopal.
The 24-year-old Ritu led the Indian women to their first Olympic appearance in 36 years but had fallen out of favour with the team management after reportedly “not being focused enough”
She had also got engaged during that time. Having led the side for almost a decade, the talented midfielder had been left out of the Rio-bound side barely a month before the Games. In her absence, Sushila Chanu was named skipper. Ritu, however, is yet to decide on joining the camp or her future with the National side. Having got married on August 18, she admitted she was still in the process of settling into the new surroundings even as she expressed anguish at missing out on the Games. “No one spoke to me before including my name in the list, I got to know only a couple of days before. After all that happened, including being accused of not contributing to the team and not being focused enough, I am not sure of joining the camp. I haven’t decided anything yet, however, let’s see how things go,” Ritu told The Hindu .
The probables: Goalkeepers: Rajani Etimarpu, Savita, Sonal Minz; Defenders: Deep Grace Ekka, Deepika Thakur, Sunita Lakra, Sushila Chanu, Hnialum Lalruatfeli, Namita Toppo, Rukmani Dodray; Midfielders: Ritu Rani, Lilima Minz, Navjot Kaur, Monika, Renuka Yadav, Lily Chanu, Nikki Pradhan, Narinder Kaur, Lalhlunmawii, Navdeep Kaur; Forwards: Rani Rampal, Poonam Rani, Vandana Katariya, Anuradha Devi, Preeti Dubey, Sonika, Anupa Barla, Jyoti Gupta and Punam Barla.
