This year’s WCH has already been the stage of some tearful goodbyes. As a few teams were eliminated in the first round, some players decided to announce their retirements from international competition. First, it was Argentina’s captain Mimi Sosa, who came back to the team just for the WCH after an earlier retirement:
“I decided to retire from the national team last year. I wanted to spend a little more time with my family and also take some rest. I have been playing for the national team for eight years and when the coach selected me for this squad I was happy that I would be able to retire at this competition, so I accepted the selection. I wanted to play for my teammates and I wanted to do my best for my country as well.”
Later, it was time for Kazakhstan’s captain Radmila Beresneva to call it quits after her team’s game against Brazil: “This is my last international match so I just want to thank everybody for the cheering. Thank you.”
The 35-year-old Beresneva has been with Kazakhstan’s NT since 2011, also participating in the 2014 WCH. As part of the team, she won bronze (2014) and silver (2016) at the Asian Cup. She started captaining the team in 2016, during the Olympic qualifiers. The player had already hinted at retirement before the game, with a “One last time, Let’s go” message on her personal Instagram page. She then later officially said her goodbye to fans:
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