New Delhi: Olympic bronze medal-winning Indian hockey star Birendra Lakra on Thursday announced that he is quitting the game with immediate effect, hours after his teammate Rupinder Pal Singh announced his retirement.Lakra’s retirement was announced by Hockey India on its official twitter handle.
A solid defender and one of the most influential Indian Men’s Hockey Team figures, the Odisha star has announced his retirement from the Indian national team. Happy Retirement, Birendra Lakra, HI tweeted.
The 31-year-old Lakra, a defender, was part of India’s bronze medal-winning side in the Tokyo Olympics.
He was also part of the 2014 gold medal-winning Incheon Asian Games team and the side that claimed bronze in 2018 Jakarta.
Hours earlier, Lakra’s teammate drag-flicker Rupinder, who played a starring role in the historic bronze-winning Tokyo Olympics campaign, announced his surprise international retirement to make way for youngsters.
I would like to inform you about my decision to retire from Indian hockey team. The past couple of months have undoubtedly been the best days of my life. Standing on the podium in Tokyo along with my teammates with whom I have shared some of the most incredible experiences of my life was a feeling I will cherish forever, Rupinder wrote in a statement posted on his official twitter handle.
U believe it is time for me to make way for young and talented players to experience every great joy I have felt in these last 13 years of representing India.
The 30-year-old Rupinder, regarded as one of the best drag-flickers of the country, represented India in 223 matches.
Rupinder was an intergral part of the Indian hockey team that won bronze medal in the Tokyo Games this year, ending a 41-year-old medal drought for the eight-time Olympic champions.