New Delhi, 4 July (Hindustan Times). Hockey India on Tuesday announced a 20-member Indian women’s hockey team for the tour of Germany and a four-nation international tournament to be held in Spain to mark the 100th anniversary of the Spanish Hockey Federation. Both the competitions will be part of the team’s preparations ahead of the crucial Hangzhou Asian Games 2023.
The Indian team will first play three Test matches in Germany from 16 to 19 July 2023, one against China and two against Germany. This will be followed by a tour of Spain, where the team will take part in a four-nation tournament from July 25. Apart from India, the other three teams in the tournament are South Africa, England and Spain.
The Indian team comprises of talented players, who are honing their skills and striving for excellence in every training session at the ongoing National Coaching Camp at the SAI Center in Bengaluru. The team will be led by goalkeeper Savita and Deep Grace Ekka will be the vice-captain.
Talking about the team selection, head coach Janneke Schoopmann said, “The tour of Spain and Germany will be a great opportunity for our team to again showcase their ability and skills on the international stage and continue their preparations for the Asian Games . I am excited as the players are performing at a high level in this camp and they are working tirelessly to improve their game and both the tours will be an ideal platform for us to test ourselves against strong opponents. We will focus on maintaining a strong team unity and executing our strategies. Our aim is to play our game and use the learnings from this camp and the previous tour.
“These tours will also be important for us with regard to the upcoming Asian Games, as they will provide us with valuable insights and help us identify areas where we can further improve our performance,” he added. It is important for us to learn from each match and grow as a team.
Indian women’s hockey team is as follows-
goalkeeper : Savita (Captain), Scorpion Goddess Kharibam.
Defender : Deep Grace Ekka (Vice-Captain), Nikki Pradhan, Ishika Chowdhary, Udita, Sushila Chanu Pukhrambam.
Midfielder : Nisha, Monika, Salima Tete, Neha, Navneet Kaur, Sonika, Baljeet Kaur, Vaishnavi Vitthal Phalke, Jyoti Chhatri.
Forward : Lalremsiami, Vandana Katariya, Sangeeta Kumari and Deepika.
