London: Odisha will have much to cheer about as quartet Deep Grace Ekka, Sunita Lakra, Namita Toppo and Lilima Minz from the state take the field with an upbeat India facing England in Group B opening encounter of Vitality Women’s Hockey World Cup here on Saturday.
The four were a part of the team, which finished runners-up in the recently-concluded Asian Champions Trophy.
On the eve of the match, Indian team skipper Rani Rampal said the pressure will be on England. “Yes they will have the home ground advantage but we are not new to playing in front of big crowds. We have done well against England before and we will carry the confidence of doing well in our recent tournaments including the CWG where we had tasted victory against England in the Group Stage at Gold Coast,” she added.
Grouped in Pool B, India will then take on world number 16 Ireland on July 26 followed by world number 7 USA on July 29.
Hockey Lovers Odisha also tweeted a video of Odisha Women Hockey players wishing the national team the very best for today’s tournament.
The Sports & Youth Department of Odisha also shared a post on Twitter
Sunita Lakra also spoke about the game and the support from her fans.
Deep Grace Ekka also shared her thoughts, as tweeted by Hockey India.
There also was a post which said majority of players in Indian Hockey Team are from Haryana and Odisha.
The 12th edition of the Women’s Hockey World Cup was held from 29 August to 11 September 2010 in Rosario, Argentina. Argentina had won the tournament for the second time, defeating defending champions the Netherlands 3–1 in the final. Though India was place ninth, Rani then was the cynosure of India’s performance having scored seven goals for the team during the course of the tournament.
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