New Delhi: Hockey India on Friday named the 18-member Indian women's team for their upcoming Tour of England which is scheduled to take place from September 27 to October 4 in Marlow, England.
Rani Rampal will lead the side while Savita will play as her deputy during the five matches against Great Britain.
"The balance and mixture of players in our team remains the same from previous tournaments as go into an important phase in our objective of qualifying for the Tokyo Olympics 2020," expressed chief coach Sjoerd Marijne about the team.
"We still have ten days of training before we leave for the matches in England, and I am sure these matches will serve as good preparation for our vital FIH Hockey Olympic Qualifiers in Odisha against USA in November 2019.
The Dutchman also spoke about how the tour will help in preparing to face USA in the FIH Hockey Olympic Qualifiers in Odisha. "I think both the Great Britain team and USA play with a similar approach to their game, so it is beneficial for us to be playing against a strong opponent in their own backyard," he said.
"We now focus on preparing well for the matches in England, but our main objective will remain to finalise some points we can improve from the Olympic Test Event as we go into the FIH Hockey Olympic Qualifiers in Odisha."
The Indian team is as follows:
Goalkeepers: Savita (Vice-Captain), Rajani Etimarpu
Defenders: Deep Grace Ekka, Gurjit Kaur, Reena Khokhar, Salima Tete
Midfielders: Sushila Chanu Pukhrambam, Nikki Pradhan, Monika, Neha Goyal, Lilima Minz, Namita Toppo
Forwards: Rani (Captain), Vandana Katariya, Navneet Kaur, Lalremsiami, Navjot Kaur and Sharmila Devi