5 Odisha Girls In Team India For Spain Hockey Tour

Bhubaneswar: As many as five girls from Odisha, Sunita Lakra, Deep Grace Ekka, Lilima Minz, Anupa Barla and Namita Toppo have been selected in the 20-member squad for Spain Tour, which will begin on June 12.

The Indian Team will play five matches against the Spanish National Team as an exposure tour ahead of the Hockey Women’s World Cup London 2018 in July.

The team will be led by ace striker Rani while Goalkeeper Savita will assist her as the vice-captain of the team. Youngster Swati too has been called up as goalkeeper for the tournament.

Sushila Chanu Pukhrambam who was rested for the recently-held fifth Women’s Asian Champions Trophy, will mark her return in the team and will join Sunita Lakra, Deep Grace Ekka, Suman Devi Thoudam, Deepika and drag-flicker Gurjit Kaur in the defence.

The midfield will have Namita Toppo, Lilima Minz, Monika, Neha Goyal, Navjot Kaur and Nikki Pradhan.

Skipper Rani, Vandana Katariya, Navneet Kaur, Lalremsiami, Udita and Anupa Barla will play as forwards.

“In this tournament, the players will get a last chance to show the best of themselves ahead of the selections for the upcoming Vitality Hockey Women’s World Cup London 2018. Also, this tournament provides us a platform to fine tune our game before the World Cup and the Asian Games in Jakarta,” said Chief Coach Sjoerd Marijne.