Hockey player Namita Toppo announces his retirement

New Delhi, Sep 15 (PTI) Veteran hockey player Namita Toppo, who has played more than 150 games for India, said goodbye to sport on Thursday.

Namita, 27, from Sundargarh district in Odisha, made her national team debut in 2012. She was a member of the Indian team that won the bronze and silver medals respectively at the 2014 Asian Games and 2018.

Namita said in a statement released to Hockey India: “The last 10 years have definitely been the best times of my life, my dream was to represent the country in major tournaments and I am happy to see my dream come true.”

“I hope I had a big impact in the game,” he said. I am thrilled to see the progress of India’s women’s hockey team over the past decade. I will continue to support the team as I move forward into new areas of life.

Namita, who learned hockey at Panposh Sports Hostel in Rourkela, joined the state team in 2007. After outstanding performances in national competitions, he was selected for the India U18 team in 2011 She was part of the team that won the bronze medal at the Asian Cup in Bangkok this year.

Namita was first selected to represent the senior national team at the “FIH Champions Challenge One” in Dublin in 2012.

She was part of India’s bronze medal-winning junior team at the 2013 FIH Junior Women’s World Cup in Mönchengladbach, Germany. Namita has participated in major tournaments like the second leg of the FIH Women’s World League in 2013 where India won gold.

She was part of the team that won the bronze medal at the 2014 Commonwealth Games, in addition to the team that competed at the Rio Olympics in 2016.

Hockey India has praised the two-time Asian Games medalist for his contribution to the country’s sport.

Yanek Shopman, Women’s National Team, said, “Namita has a huge contribution to Indian hockey. In addition to giving everything on the pitch, Namita has also been a role model (an inspiration) for the youngsters on the team.

He said: “Very few players get the chance to play 168 games for the country and Namita has made it into the team with her ability in every game. He is a great player as well as a wonderful human being. For him, the team is first in every respect.