Savita named captain of Indian Women's Hockey Team for World Cup

New Delhi, June 21, 2022

Ace goalkeeper Savita was today named captain of the Indian Women's Team for the FIH Women's Hockey World Cup to be held in the Netherlands and Spain from July 1-17.

Defender Deep Grace Ekka will be the vice-captain of the 18-member squad named by Hockey India.

India, grouped in Pool B along with England, New Zealand and China, will begin their campaign on July 3 against England, to whom they lost the bronze medal in the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020.

The squad includes goalkeepers Savita and Bichu Devi Kharibam. Defenders Deep Grace Ekka, Gurjit Kaur, Nikki Pradhan, Udita have been named in the squad along with midfielders Nisha, Sushila Chanu Pukhrambam, Monika, Neha, Jyoti, Navjot Kaur, Sonika and Salima Tete.

The forwardline features the very experienced Vandana Katariya, Lalremsiami, Navneet Kaur and Sharmila Devi while talented young stars Akshata Abaso Dhekale and Sangita Kumari have been named as replacement players.

In the previous edition of the prestigious quadrennial event held in London, India had entered the quarter-finals but lost to Ireland in a shootout after a 0-0 stalemate in regulation time. Ireland, who ousted India 3-1 in the shootout, went on to play the final of the World Cup and ended their campaign with a silver medal.

Chief Coach Janneke Schopman said, "We have chosen the best squad for the World Cup. It is a mix of experience and young talent who have shown great promise when they were given a chance against top teams in the FIH Pro League."

"Except Rani, who is 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 utilize the next ten days to fine tune our game basis analysis from Pro League performances," added Schopman.

The Indian team will play their group stage matches in Amstelveen, Netherlands and if they top the group, they will play the quarter-finals too in Amstelveen before the team moves to Terrassa, Spain for the semi-finals and final, basis qualification in the knockout stage.

The crossover matches for pool B will be played in Spain.

The team:

Goalkeepers: 1. Savita (C) 2. Bichu Devi Kharibam

Defenders: 3. Deep Grace Ekka (VC) 4. Gurjit Kaur 5. Nikki Pradhan 6. Udita

Midfielders: 7. Nisha 8. Sushila Chanu Pukhrambam 9. Monika 10. Neha 11. Jyoti 12. Navjot Kaur 13. Sonika 14. Salima Tete

Forwards: 15. Vandana Katariya 16. Lalremsiami 17. Navneet Kaur 18. Sharmila Devi

Replacement Players: 19. Akshata Abaso Dhekale 20. Sangita Kumari

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