Hockey Player Namita Toppo From Odisha Completes 150 International Caps

London: Indian midfielder Namita Toppo, hailing from Rourkela, reached a milestone of 150 international caps with the opening match of Vitality Hockey Women’s World Cup London 2018 against hosts England on Saturday.

Hockey India tweeted a congratulatory note for the achievement.

She expressed her joy, saying she is proud to have represented her state and nation in 150 international matches. “For me, it is just a start as I am quite young and I look forward to playing many more games for the country. It is a promising phase for women’s hockey in India and it is important for us to perform well and keep winning trophies to make the fans proud of our team,” she said.

At the age of 17, in 2012, she made her debut in the International Hockey Federation (FIH) Champions Challenge I in Dublin. The 23-year-old had trained at Sports Hostel in Rourkela’s Panposh.

She represented Odisha in 2007 in the domestic competitions where her phenomenal performance helped her get a place in Girs U-18 Hockey Asia Cup in Bangkok, Thailand, held in 2011. The Indian team won the bronze medal in that tournament. In 2013, she became a part of the Indian Junior Women’s Hockey team at the FIH Hockey Junior World Cup Women in Mönchengladbach, Germany, in which team won the bronze medal.

She has been a part of all the major tournaments like FIH Women’s World League Round 2 2013 (Indian won gold), 3rd Women’s Asian Champions Trophy 2013 (India won silver), eighth Women’s Asia Cup 2913, 2014 Commonwealth Games, 17th Asian Games 2014 (India won Bronze), 2016 Rio Olympics and 9th Women’s Asia Cup 2017 in South Korea (India won silver).

There has been no looking back for the hard-working Toppo. She went on to win Asunta Lakra Award for the Upcoming Player of the Year at 2014 Hockey India Annual Awards.

Secretary-General, Hockey India, Md. Mushtaque Ahmad congratulated Namita on her feat and said she as a player, brings stability to India’s midfield and helps the team in transitioning from defence to attack quickly. “Her contribution in the last six years has been crucial. From her debut to now, she has won many medals. I would like to wish her the very best for the future and hope that she keeps contributing to the team’s victories,” he added.

We, at Odisha Bytes, also wish the young player all the very best for the matches ahead.

(With inputs from Hockey India)