Ex- Indian women’s hockey captain Ritu Rani retires from International hockey

TIL Desk Sports/ Former Indian women’s hockey captain Ritu Rani has reitered from international hockey after being deeply hurt following her axing from the Rio Olympics-bound squad. Ritu, who was controversially dropped from the team for the Rio Olympics citing “attitude” issues, however was included in the 29 probables for the National camp which began in Bhopal on Sunday.

“We got a mail from Ritu Rani 2-3 days back stating that she will not be able to join the national camp as she is retiring from international hockey,” Hockey India president Narinder Batra told. “It is her personal decision and we at Hockey India respect her decision. Hockey India would like to thank her for her service to the game and the nation,” he said.

However, repeated calls to Ritu went answered. In fact, it was under Ritu’s captaincy that the Indian eves qualified for the Rio Olympics after a gap of 36 years. It was also under her captaincy that the national team had won a bronze medal at the 2014 Incheon Asian Games and a silver medal at the 2013 Asian Champions Trophy.