SK Flashback: Rise of Rani Rampal saves India the wooden spoon blues

2010 FIH Women's Hockey World Cup was another forgettable edition for the Indian women's team. Yet, it was a lot better when compared to the previous outings of Team India. Also, this World Cup shall always be remembered for giving India a player, who would contribute a lion's share in some of the most historic achievements the women's team would later achieve. Yes, she is none other than our current skipper of the women's team, Rani Rampal.

Group Stages: England surprise one and all

Flashback Hockey: When England stepped up for the first time on

podium

The group stages were a mere repeat of the previous edition, with the Netherlands, hosts Argentina and Germany booking their berths once again, the only exception being the English team. Losing only to Argentina, England were on a roll, surprising many teams on their trot to the semifinals.

Defeating teams like Spain, South Africa, China etc., England stormed into the semifinals, only their second stint since 1990, when they last entered the final four. Though their final dream ended with a narrow loss to the Netherlands on penalties, they bounced back in style, defeating Argentina by 2-0 to win their first ever Women's World Cup medal at the senior level.

Team India: Not the best, but definitely not like the rest

Flashback Hockey: When Team India finished in their best position since 1978

Having survived the lows of finishing 11th in the previous edition, and not being able to make it to the Beijing Olympics, Team India didn't have many expectations from this edition. So reflected in their performance, as India finished an unimpressive 9th out of 12 teams at the FIH World Cup, having managed to defeat South Africa by 4-3.

However, there's more to this campaign than what meets the eye. Yes, the Indians cut a sorry figure, failing to topple the ruling champions of this sport. However, in a huge improvement from the previous editions, for the first time in 32 years, Team India registered a win at the FIH Women's Hockey World Cup, where they defeated Japan by 2-0 to avoid being relegated to the 11th-12th place classification matches.

The 9th place earned by the Indian team is one of the best positions for the Indian women's team since the 1978 edition, where they finished 7th overall.

Rani Rampal: The 'Haryanvi tornado' makes her mark

Flashback Hockey: The rise of Rani Rampal, 'The Haryanvi tornado'

The FIH World Cup 2010 also marked the debut of a girl, who would soon change the equations for women's hockey in India for once and for all. Little had anyone thought that a girl, who was the daughter of a mere cart puller, would soon revolutionize the very face of women's hockey in India.

Rani Rampal, who is the youngest Indian hockey player to make a debut in the World Cup, being barely 15 years old, wreaked havoc on the opposition. It was her bad luck that her team was not half as enthusiastic and eager to win as she was. Yet, when the tournament ended, Rani Rampal became the 1st Indian woman hockey player to earn an FIH trophy, having received an award for the FIH Young Player of the Tournament.

Call it her ability or the irony of the team, she scored a whopping 7 out of the 11 goals India scored overall in this tournament. Interestingly, she was the 2nd highest goalscorer of the tournament, with only Maartje Paumen of Netherlands being a notch better than her, with 12 goals overall.

She was later instrumental in giving a historic bronze medal to Team India at the FIH Junior Hockey World Cup 2013, where India shocked England by 3-2 in sudden death to win their first ever medal in any major FIH tournament. No wonder why a lot of expectations rest on her shoulders as she leads the team in the upcoming World Cup, which shall commence from 21st July.

Argentina win the World Cup in front of an enthusiastic home crowd

Flashback Hockey: Argentina win their 2nd ever World Cup title

On the other hand, Argentina won their 2nd ever World Cup in front of an enthusiastic home crowd, defeating the Netherlands by a handsome margin of 3-1.