SAI gives Rani Rampal out-of-turn promotion after World Games Athlete of the Year win

NEW DELHI: Indian women's hockey skipper Rani Rampal on Friday received an out-of-turn promotion from the Sports Authority of India. Rani, on Thursday won the World Games Athlete of the Year award and SAI has promoted the 25-year-old, honouring her achievement.

Rani was voted The World Games Athlete of the Year through an online voting process that spanned three weeks. With a total of 199,477, the India captain overwhelmingly claimed the top spot.

The Indian captain, who joined SAI as an assistant coach in 2015, has been promoted to the post of coach (Level-10), with immediate effect.

“As an organization, the welfare of sportspersons is SAI’s primary concern. It is the government’s duty to provide the best facilities to athletes and motivate them to perform better. Ensuring that our athletes have a sound financial standing is of immense importance. This is our way of appreciating Rani for all that she has contributed to the country,” said Union Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports Kiren Rijiju on SAI rewarding Rani.

Rani has been serving the country with distinction since making her debut in 2009 as a 15-year-old. The Haryana-born was the captain of the Indian side that qualified for the Rio Olympics in 2016. She led the Indian women’s hockey team as captain in the 2018 Asian Games where they won a silver medal.

Rani was conferred with an Arjuna Awards in the year 2016.