Press Trust of India
New Delhi, May 25: Four Oriya players were selected in the 18- member Indian women’s hockey team for the upcoming FIH Hockey World League Semi-Final in Antwerp, Belgium June 20- July 4. They are Deep Grace Ekka, Sunita lakra, Namita Toppo and Lilima Minz. Ritu Rani will lead the squad announced by Hockey India here Monday. Deepika has been named as her deputy.
India will begin their campaign on the first day of the tournament June 20, against the hosts Belgium. They have been placed in Pool B along with second ranked Australia, New Zealand, Poland, besides Belgium. In Pool A, The Netherlands, Korea, Japan, Italy and Azerbaijan will contest against each–other.
Training under the new chief coach Mathias Ahrens, Indian eves will be aiming to finish in the top four and qualify for the FIH Hockey World League Final Round, and also secure a berth in the 2016 Rio Olympic Games.
“The team is in very good shape and the ongoing preparation camp is helping us to improve our game. With our recent performances in the FIH Hockey World League Round 2 in New Delhi and the Hawke’s Bay Cup 2015 in New Zealand, we have shown improvement in our game. We are trying to rectify our mistakes we committed in our previous tournaments,” Ritu Rani said.
Coach Ahrens said the team was completely focussed on working on the problem areas. “The team is doing very well and improving perfectively. We have pointed out mistakes and loopholes in the previous matches and we are positively working on those issues. The players are keen learners and work really hard, which is a very good thing for the team,” Ahrens added.
Squad: Savita, Rajini Etimarpu, Deep Grace Ekka, Deepika, Sunita Lakra, Namita Toppo, Sushila Chanu, Ritu Rani, Lilima Minz, Lily Chanu, Navjot Kaur, Monika, Renuka Yadav, Rani, Poonam Rani, Vandana Kataria, Anuradha Devi, Soundarya Yendala.