Hockey India Announces Squad For FIH Women’s Hockey World Cup

Bhubaneswar: Hockey India on Tuesday announced the Indian team for the FIH Women’s Hockey World Cup to be held in Netherlands and Spain from July 1 to 17.

With Rani Rampal, the former skipper still undergoing rehabilitation for a hamstring injury, the Indian team will be captained by ace goalkeeper Savita while Deep Grace Ekka will be her deputy.

The 20-member squad includes defenders Deep Grace Ekka, Gurjit Kaur, Nikki Pradhan and Udita along with midfielders Nisha, Sushila Chanu Pukhrambam, Monika, Neha, Jyoti, Navjot Kaur, Sonika and Salima Tete. Besides Savita, Bichu Devi Kharibam will be the second goalkeeper.

The forward players include Vandana Katariya, Lalremsiami, Navneet Kaur and Sharmila Devi while Akshata Abaso Dhekale and Sangita Kumari have been named as replacement players.

India, placed in Pool B along with England, New Zealand and China, will begin their campaign against England on July 3. Indian women had missed the Bronze Medal in the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 by losing to England.

The Indian team will play group stage matches in Amstelveen, Netherlands. While the quarterfinals will also be played in Amstelveen, the semifinal and clash are scheduled in Terrassa, Spain.

“Except Rani, who has still not fully recovered from injury rehabilitation, the team has all the players who were part of the Olympic campaign with inclusions like Jyoti and Sonika who have done well in their roles when given a chance. We will also have Sangita and Akshata who will travel with the team as replacement players. The team is absolutely excited and eager to begin their World Cup campaign and we will utilise next 10 days to fine-tune our game basis analysis from Pro League performances,” News18 quoted chief coach Janneke Schopman as saying.