Harpal Singh Bedi / New Delhi
INDIA Women hockey captain Rani Rampaul on Thursday earned the distinction of being the firstt Indian athlete to win the prestigious World Games Athlete of the Year 2019 Award..
The prize, which is voted for by the public, is given for outstanding performances, along with social commitment and fair behaviour.
This was the 6th edition of the IWGA (International World Games Association) initiative that recognises and honours an athlete or a team for their outstanding performance in 2019, or for their social commitment or particularly fair behaviour.
The 25 athletes, male and female, nominated for this award from 25 sports e recommended by their International Federations which was reduced to 10 in the final round of public voting.
The International Hockey federation ( FIH ) had recommended Rani’s name for the award for her outstanding performance and her ability to lead by example. She was instrumental in India qualifying for the first time in back-to-back Olympic Games
As per the FIH release from Lausanne, (Switzerland) among her rivals to the title were karate star Stanislav Horuna of Ukraine, the Canadian powerlifting champion Rhaea Stinn and Janja Garnbret, a sport climbing star from Slovenia.
The winner was adjudged through the number of public votes garnered and Rani accumulated a mammoth 199,477 votes. Last year, the Acrobatic Gymnastics couple Mariia Chernova and Georgii Pataraia (Russia) won the title with 159,348 votes, just ahead of American Powerlifter Jennifer Thompson with 152,865 votes.
Rani, who has been a member of the national team since she was a mere 15-year-old and currently has more than 240 caps for her country,and is in New Zealand for a five-match tour. said “It is my privilege and honour to win this award. The award goes to my team and my country. It is always nice when your country recognises your effort.
“It is even better when the international sports community recognises it. Thank you so much to everyone who voted for me. 2019 was a great year for our team because we qualified for the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games. As a team we want to make 2020 a great year!”
Congratulating Rani, President, Hockey India Mohd Mushtaque Ahmad,said, “I congratulate Rani for winning the prestigious World Games Athlete of the Year 2019 Award.
“This is a very proud moment for all of us. She is the first Indian athlete to win this award and through her achievements Rani has been able to draw a lot of attention towards women’s hockey.”
” I am confident this team is capable of winning larger goals and I wish Rani and the team best of luck this Olympic Year.”
FIH CEO Thierry Weil said: “On behalf of FIH and the global hockey community, I would like to extend our warmest congratulations to Rani for having been voted The World Games Athlete of the Year 2019. This is an acknowledgement of her outstanding performances – together with her teammates -, of her dedication to hockey and of her leadership. This prestigious Award is also a great recognition for hockey globally.”
“We are working hard for and look forward to having Hockey 5s as a demonstration sport at The World Games 2021.”
Looking back on 2019, the highlight for Rani and her teammates was the FIH Women’s Series Finals in Hiroshima, where Rani herself was Player of the Tournament and her team sealed their qualification for the Olympics Games Tokyo 2020. Prior to that competition, Rani had also led her team to victory in the Ready Steady Tokyo 2020 hockey test event in August.