Rani Rampal is an Indian field hockey player who was born on December 4, 1994, in Haryana. On her comeback, she scores a goal to help India defeat SA 5-1.
Rani Rampal made an impressive comeback to the national team, scoring a goal in India’s 5-1 victory over South Africa in the first Test of the four-match series here. She was the youngest player on the team at 15 years old.
Monika (20th), Navneet Kaur (24th), Gurjit Kaur (25th), and Sangita Kumari (30th) scored four times in the second quarter to give India a commanding 5-0 lead at halftime.
Former captain Rani made her return to the team for the first time since playing against Belgium in the FIH Women’s Hockey Pro League 2021-22 in June.
Quanita Bobbs, captain of South Africa, scored the only goal in the 44th minute.
On Tuesday night, the second match will be played late
Vaishnavi Phalke, a midfielder, made her senior debut on Monday after leading the Indian junior team at the Uniphar U-23 five-nations tournament last year.
South Africa was forced back into their own half early in the first quarter as a result of India’s aggressive start. Rani scored from a penalty corner to give them the lead.
The Indians appeared even more ruthless and perilous as the second quarter began at a rapid pace.
Monika put her name on the scoreboard in the 20th minute, and then four minutes later, Navneet made it 3-0 in favor of India by calmly slotting the ball into the goal after a brilliant team move. The visitors dominated possession and scored four more goals quickly.
As the South Africans struggled to establish their footing in the match, drag-flicker Gurjit converted a penalty stroke one minute later.
From a penalty corner, Sangita skillfully deflected the ball into the net just before halftime.
India continued to look for more goals after the ends were switched, but the visitors were unable to score despite constant pressure on the South African defense.
Bobbs’ goal from a penalty corner gave South Africa a chance to win.
In the fourth and final quarter, the hosts seemed confident and dangerous, but India had a big enough lead to win easily.