Bengaluru, July 12, (H.S.). The Indian women’s hockey team left for its European tour from Bengaluru on Wednesday. The team will first fly to Germany for a three-match series where India will play hosts Germany in two matches while they will also take on China in one match.
The Indian team will begin their campaign in Limburg, where they will take on China on 16 July 2023. After this, the Indian team will take on the hosts Germany on 18th and 19th July 2023 in Wiesbaden and Russelheim respectively. The Indian team will use this tour to prepare for the Hangzhou Asian Games 2023.
The Indian team will then fly to Terrassa, Spain on July 20 for the 100th Anniversary Spanish Hockey Federation – International Tournament. They will begin their campaign on July 25 against hosts Spain. The next match of the Indian team will be against the Republic of South Africa on 27 July. Their last group match will be against England on 28 July.
The team will be led by goalkeeper Savita while Deep Grace Ekka has been named as the vice-captain. The Indian team was training at the national coaching camp at the SAI Center in Bengaluru.
Before the departure of the Indian team, Indian women’s hockey team captain Savita said, “We are really looking forward to this tour. Playing against good teams before the Asian Games will be a good learning experience for us. These matches will be really important for us to prepare for the upcoming Asian Games. After working on our strengths and weaknesses over the past few months, we will aim to give our best in Germany and Spain.
Meanwhile, Indian women’s hockey team vice-captain Deep Grace Ekka said, “We have conducted rigorous training sessions in the last few weeks. The preparations have been really good, and our previous performance will be a huge confidence booster for the players. We will try to replicate it in our matches in Germany and Spain.
The Indian 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 Chhetri.
Forward: Lalremsiami, Vandana Katariya, Sangeeta Kumari, Deepika.
