Bengaluru, June 17: Hockey India on Thursday announced a mix of experience and youth to represent the nation in the Olympic Games women’s hockey competition in Tokyo next month. The selectors, who have not named the captain yet, have clearly preferred a balance between continuity from the Rio Olympic Games 2016, and some fresh blood.
Chief Coach Sjoerd Marijne said the team is a good mix of experienced players and new talent. “This team has worked very hard over the last few years and has made progress consistently. We look forward to taking on the best in the world in Tokyo. This is a team with a lot of potential and drive which we hope to channelise to our best performance yet,” he said.
Eight players named in the squad, Rani, Savita Punia, Deep Grace Ekka, Sushila Chanu, Monika, Nikki Pradhan, Navjot Kaur and Vandana Katariya were part of the 2016 side which became the first Indian women’s team to compete in an Olympic Games after a gap of 36 years. These players now have a total of 1,492 caps among them.
The eight Olympic debutants include drag-flicker Gurjit Kaur, Udita, Nisha, Neha, Navneet Kaur, Sharmila Devi, Lalremsiami – who is the first player hailing from Mizoram in the team – and Salima Tete, who led the Indian team at the 2018 Youth Olympic Games at Buenos Aires to a silver medal.
The Indian team has seen a rise over the past few years, clinching Olympic qualification for a second consecutive occasion on the back of their consistent performances in qualifying events. Since Rio 2016, the team won the 2016 Asian Champions Trophy, 2017 Asia Cup, the Silver medal at the 2018 Asian Games and made it to the quarterfinals of the 2018 Women’s World Cup for the first time.
Hockey India President Gyanendro Ningombam said he was confident that it would compete against all opponents. “Over the past few years, leading up to the Olympics, the team has worked very hard to achieve its current form,” he said of the side that has risen to World No. 9 in the FIH Rankings at the start of the year.
This team took the disconcerting news of the postponement of the Tokyo Olympics in its stride. It has undertaken challenging tours to Germany and Argentina earlier this year as part of its preparations against world class competition. A high intensity National Camp followed the international tours. The team will continue to prepare in the Sports Authority of India’s National Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru ahead of the Games in Tokyo from July 23.
Team Photo: Courtesy Hockey India
