Bhubaneswar: Four Odisha players found place in the 22-member Indian Women’s Hockey Team, announced by Hockey India on Monday, for the upcoming FIH Women’s Hockey Pro League matches at home in Bhubaneswar, Odisha against Spain.
The players are Deep Grace Ekka, Namita Tappo, Rashmita Minz and Mariana Kujur.
Indian women’s hockey team goalkeeping stalwart Savita will continue to lead the team while Deep Grace Ekka will be her deputy during the FIH Pro League games, which will be held over the weekend on 26th and 27th February 2022.
Chief coach Janneke Schopman said she was happy with the improvement shown by the new players.
“We are excited to kick off our home Pro League games against Spain. We had two good training weeks after our return from Oman and I believe the selected 22 players will be ready to show what they can against Spain. When you have a strong pool of players, team selection always becomes difficult but I am happy to see that the new players are improving a lot and showing a lot of promise,” said Schopman.
“Spain is a strong opponent, they have consistently performed at a high level only narrowly missing out on the Semi Finals in Tokyo and clinching the Bronze medal in the last World Cup. They are very skilful and play from a tight defence, so we are looking to use our own speed and skills and strong defence to compete well against them.”
Indian squad:
Goalkeepers — Savita (Captain), Bichu Devi Kharibam, Rajani Etimarpu.
Defenders — Deep Grace Ekka (vice-captain), Gurjit Kaur, Nikki Pradhan, Udita, Ishika Chaudhary.
Midfielders — Nisha, Salima Tete, Sushila Chanu Pukhrambam, Jyoti, Monika, Neha, Navjot Kaur, Namita Toppo.
Forwards — Vandana Katariya, Sharmila Devi, Navneet Kaur, Lalremsiami, Sangita Kumari, Rajwinder Kaur.
Standbys — Rashmita Minz, Akshata Abaso Dhekale, Sonika, Mariana Kujur, Aishwarya Rajesh Chavan.