Experienced goalkeeper Savita will lead India at the upcoming women’s Asia Cup in Muscat as Hockey India named a 18-member squad for the event on Wednesday, including 16 players who featured in the Tokyo Olympics.
Since regular skipper Rani Rampal is recovering from an injury in Bengaluru, Savita will be at the helm for the tournament, scheduled between January 21 and 28. Experienced defender Deep Grace Ekka will be Savita’s deputy.
India is in Pool A along with Japan, Malaysia and Singapore.
It will open the title defence against Malaysia on the opening day and will next play Japan on Jan. 23 and Singapore on Jan. 24. The semifinals will be held on Jan. 26 and the final on Jan. 28.
The top-four teams will qualify for the 2022 World Cup to be held in Spain and the Netherlands.
“This is a very important tournament for us and I am happy with the team. It is a mix of some very experienced players along with talented youngsters who have shown great potential at the international level,” chief coach Janneke Schopman said.
“Though we were a bit disappointed with how things panned out for us at the Asian Champions Trophy, we were able to return to the camp in SAI, Bengaluru and put in some good sessions of hockey to prepare well for this challenge.”
In the previous edition in 2017, India downed China 5-4 in shootout to lift the title.
The team:
Goalkeepers: Savita (capt.), Rajani Etimarpu.
Defenders: Deep Grace Ekka, Gurjit Kaur, Nikki Pradhan, Udita.
Midfielders: Nisha, Sushila Chanu, Monika, Neha, Salima Tete, Jyoti, Navjot Kaur.
Forwards: Navneet Kaur, Lalremsiami, Vandana Katariya, Mariana Kujur, Sharmila Devi.
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