Many athletes dream of long careers filled with success, but reaching the top requires hard work, determination, and some luck. While some athletes achieve greatness, others choose to retire early and start a new chapter.
Leaving a sports career at a young age is tough, especially when it’s all they’ve trained for.
Here are five Indian athletes who made the bold decision to retire young.
5. Viren Rasquinha – Retired at 28
Viren Rasquinha, a former captain of the Indian men’s hockey team and an Arjuna Award winner, made his international debut at 22 in 2002. He was a key player for India in the 2000s, playing 180 international matches. Rasquinha helped India win silver at the 2002 Busan Asian Games, gold at the 2003 Asia Cup in Kuala Lumpur, and finish 7th at the 2004 Athens Olympics. He retired at 28 in 2008 to pursue higher education.
After retiring, Rasquinha earned an MBA from the Indian School of Business in Hyderabad and joined Olympic Gold Quest (OGQ). Today, he appears on hockey shows and serves as the director and CEO of OGQ.
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4. Lilima Minz – Retired at 27
Lilima Minz started playing for the Indian women’s hockey team in 2011. As a midfielder, she scored 12 goals in 156 matches and contributed to many of the team’s significant achievements. Minz was part of the team that won bronze at the 2014 Asian Games, silver at the 2018 Asian Games, and gold at the 2019 FIH Women’s Series Finals in Hiroshima. She also played in the historic 4th-place finish at the Tokyo Olympics. Lilima retired from hockey in 2022 at the age of 27.
3. Namita Toppo – Retired at 27
Namita Toppo made her international debut for the Indian women’s hockey team in 2012 at just 17. She played in 168 international matches, winning bronze at the 2014 Asian Games and silver at the 2018 Asian Games. Namita also represented India at the 2014 Commonwealth Games and the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, where the team competed after a 36-year gap. She retired in 2022 at the age of 27.
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2. Archana Kamath – Retired at 24
Archana Kamath, a table tennis star and 2022 National Games gold medalist, retired at 24 to pursue higher education in the United States. She was part of the Indian women’s table tennis team that reached the quarter-finals at the 2024 Paris Olympics. Archana shone in the Round of 16 against Romania and secured India’s only win in the quarter-finals against Germany’s world No. 38 Shan Xiaona. She also finished fourth at the 2018 Youth Olympics in Buenos Aires.
1. Nisha Millet – Retired at 22
Nisha Millet, an Arjuna Awardee, made history as the first Indian swimmer to qualify for the Olympics, representing India at the 2000 Sydney Games. She also competed in the 1998 Asian Games and World Championships in Perth (1999) and Indianapolis (2004). Millet won medals at the Afro-Asian Games and SAF Games, and in 1999, she claimed 14 gold medals at the National Games. She was the first Indian woman to swim 100 meters freestyle in under a minute.
After narrowly missing qualification for the 2004 Olympics following back surgery, Nisha retired from competitive swimming at 22. Since then, she has been coaching young swimmers and runs a swimming academy in Bangalore.
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