25 women players called up for hockey national camp

After a two-week break following their Argentina Tour, the core group will assemble at the Sports Authority of India (SAI), Bengaluru on Sunday and will undergo mandatory quarantine.

New Delhi: Hockey India has named the 25-member core probable group for the senior women’s national coaching camp as part of the team’s preparations for the Tokyo Olympic Games.

After a two-week break following their Argentina Tour, the core group will assemble at the Sports Authority of India (SAI), Bengaluru on Sunday and will undergo mandatory quarantine.

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The 25-member probable list includes goalkeepers Savita, Rajani Etimarpu and Bichu Devi Kharibam. The defenders selected for the camp include Deep Grace Ekka, Reena Khokhar, Salima Tete, Manpreet Kaur, Gurjit Kaur and Nisha.

Nikki Pradhan, Monika, Neha, Lilima Minz, Sushila Chanu Pukhrambam and Namita Toppo are the midfielders called-up for the camp while forwards Rani, Lalremsiami, Vandana Katariya, Navjot Kaur, Navneet Kaur, Rajwinder Kaur, Jyoti, Sharmila Devi, Udita, Rashmita Minz will also report.

In January, the group had set out on their first tour in over 12 months and despite not registering a win on the tour, chief coach Sjoerd Marjine was happy with the effort put in by his team against the World No.2 side.

“Considering this was our first tour after a year-long break due to the pandemic, I am quite pleased with the way the team performed. We improved match-by-match and this is a positive step in our preparations for the Olympic Games. Basis this performance, we will be planning the next steps that needs improvement and will be focusing on those areas during this camp,” Marijne said.

“While we are in quarantine, we will make use of this time to analyse in detail every single match we played in Argentina. Each player will be tasked with an assignment to present to the team the areas they need to improve upon. What I am particularly happy about with this team is that they are vocal about the changes they want to make in their performance. They accept criticism and are able to move on with determination to improve,” he added.