Ranchi To be held from 13 to 19 January olympic qualifier The 18-member Indian women’s hockey team was announced on Saturday. The command of the team has been handed over to experienced goalkeeper Savita Punia, while Vandana Kataria will be the vice-captain. Four players from Jharkhand, Olympian Nikki Pradhan, Salima Tete, Sangeeta Kumari and Beauty Dungdung have been included in the team.
The top three teams of the tournament will qualify for Paris Olympics 2024. Savita recently won the FIH Goalkeeper of the Year award, while Vandana became the first Indian woman player to play 300 international matches. India will play its first match against America on 13 January. After this, it has to play New Zealand on 14 January and Italy on 16 January.
Eight teams including India will participate in the tournament. These include teams from India, Germany, Chile, Japan, Czech Republic, New Zealand, Italy and United States. These have been divided into two groups. Group A has teams from Germany, Chile, Japan and Czech Republic, while Group B has teams from New Zealand, Italy, India and United States.
Indian team for Olympic qualifiers
Goalkeeper: Savita Punia (captain), Bichhu Devi Kharibam.
Defender : Nikki Pradhan, Udita, Ishika Chaudhary, Monica.
Midfielder: Nisha, Vaishnavi Vittal Phalke, Neha, Navneet Kaur, Salima Tete, Sonika, Jyoti, Beauty Dungdung.
Forward : Lalremsiami, Sangeeta Kumari, Deepika, Vandana Kataria.