Hockey India (HI) has congratulated midfielder Namita Toppo for completing 150 international caps for India. Toppo reached the milestone on Saturday during the Indian women's team's opening match of the World Cup against hosts England.
The 23-year-old from Odisha made her International debut for the senior team in the FIH Champions Challenge I in Dublin in 2012. "I would like to congratulate Namita Toppo on completing 150 International Caps for India. She is a player who brings stability to India's midfield and helps the team in transitioning from defence to attack quickly," said Md. Mushtaque Ahmad, Secretary General, Hockey India.
"Her contribution during the six years since making her debut has been immense and has seen her win many medals. I would like to wish Namita the very best for the future and hope that she keeps contributing to the team's victories."
The young midfielder first represented her state team in 2007 and her performances in the domestic competitions saw her getting selected for the girls U-18 Hockey Asia Cup in Bangkok, Thailand held in 2011 where the Indian team won the bronze medal.
Toppo's hard work and consistent performances in the domestic circuit saw her getting selected to represent the Senior team in 2012 when she participated in the FIH Champions Challenge I in Dublin. Next year Toppo became a part of the Indian junior team which won the bronze medal at the junior world cup 2013 held in M nchengladbach, Germany.
The youngster has since participated in major tournaments like FIH World League Round 2 held in New Delhi in 2013 where India won the gold, 3rd Asian Champions trophy in 2013 where India won the silver medal. She also participated in the 8th Asia Cup 2013, 2014 Commonwealth Games held in Glasgow, 17th Asian Games 2014 where India won the bronze medal, 2016 Rio Olympics and the most recent being the team's silver medal victory at the 9th Asia Cup 2017 held in South Korea.
"I feel extremely proud to have represented the nation for 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," Toppo said. "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."
