Speaking to The Sunday Guardian, the 25-year-old said that she was missing the hustle and bustle of the hockey field. “When I retired from the game following my marriage in September last year, I thought that I would not miss sitting out from the game. But then as time elapsed, I realized that I had started to miss out the action. It was as if I was I could not stay away from the game for a long time,” she said.
When queried as to how she managed to keep her fitness even during retirement, Ritu said it was all about one’s determination. “I was determined to stay in shape and used to do all my exercises and fitness regimen even when I had retired. I wanted to remain fit and went through most drills which I used to do as a player,” she said.
She also had words of praise for her family. “I think I would not have been able to make my comeback happen without the rock solid support which I got from my family. They were firmly behind me and without their support, I could not have made a successful comeback,” she added.
Ritu was also elated at the fact that she would be back with her teammates. “I am very happy and excited to be back in the national camp with my teammates. I thank Hockey India for allowing me to withdraw my retirement and giving me the opportunity to be part of the team again,” she said
It must be mentioned here that Ritu had announced her retirement after being left out of the Rio Olympics following her spat with the then coach Neil Hagwood. Does the axing from Rio still rankle her? “Not now. But yes it was hurting very much when I was dropped. I lost all interest in the game and decided to hang my stick. I had lost my love for the game,” she said.
With the Rio disappointment behind her, Ritu hopes to give her best under the new coach Dutch Marijne. ‘I am sure we will give a good account of ourselves under Marijne. We have entered a new and exciting phase and if we work hard we can really go places,” she said.
The all-important HWL Round 2 will witness India participate alongside Belarus, Canada, Mexico, Trinidad and Tobago, Uruguay and Chile. Apart from Ritu, the squad includes the experienced Deepika, Rani Rampal, Vandana Katariya, Poonam Rani, Navjot Kaur, Deep Grace Ekka, Renuka Yadav, Monika, Sunita Lakra, Namita Toppo and goalkeeper Savita who were all part of the Rio Olympics squad. The Indian eves recorded an emphatic win against Belarus in the recently-concluded five-match Test Series. They registered five straight wins to seal the Series held in Bhopal.
Meanwhile, Hockey India on Friday rewarded players who impressed in the Hockey India league (HIL) when it named the 33-member core probables list for the national camp, starting March 14 at the Sports Authority of India (SAI) complex in Bengaluru. The camp, held under the guidance of chief coach Roelant Oltmans, also includes 11 players from the Gold Medal Junior World Cup winning squad.
While Mandeep Singh, Harjeet Singh, Harmanpreet Singh and Vikas Dahiya have been part of the senior men’s camp earlier, defenders Dipsan Tirkey, Gurinder Singh, midfielders Sumit, Nilakanta Sharma, Manpreet, Simranjeet Singh, forward Gurjant Singh are the latest inclusions in the core group, which will be put through the grind ahead of the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup in April. The 20-year-old goalkeeper Suraj Karkera from Mumbai has also received a call-up for the national team camp. Karkera was part of the junior Indian men’s team in the four-nation International Junior hockey tournament in Valencia last year.