New Delhi, May 3 (IANS): A preparatory camp for the Indian women's hockey core probables will commence at the Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium here from Monday and will continue till June 10.
The camp is the groundwork for the Hockey World League (HWL) Semi-Final to be played in Belgium in June. If India achieve a top-three finish in the tournament, they will qualify for the 2016 Rio Olympic Games. A total of 32 players have been selected for the camp.
The women's team recently played at the Hawke’s Bay Cup where, while the world No.13 team had to settle for the seventh position, they have to their credit some brilliant performances.
Their match against Australia during the tournament where both the teams played for a draw brought to the fore how the Indian team gave the opponents a run for their money.
Also, the victory over higher-ranked Japan in the seventh place classification match will give them a lot of confidence.
"The team has showcased that they have the capability to win any match, just that they need to work on good ball possession, tackles and passes," Hockey India (HI) high performance director Roelant Oltmans said in a release on Sunday.
"The camp will aim to work on these areas and ensure that we finish the games in our favour. I am confident that they will take their game a notch up in the upcoming tournament."
The list of 32 core probables:
Goalkeepers: Yogita Bali, Savita, Rajni Etimarpu
Defenders: Deep Grace Ekka, Deepika, Kirandeep Kaur, Sunita Lakra, Gurjit Kaur, Sushila Chanu, M. N. Ponnamma, Joydeep Kaur, Jaspreet Kaur, Manjit Kaur, Monika
Midfielders: Ritu Rani, Namita Toppo, Chanchan Devi Thokchom, Lilima Minz, Liliy Chanu, Navjot Kaur, Amandeep Kaur, Renuka Yadav, Soundarya Yendala
Forwards: Vandana Katariya, Rani Rampal, Poonam Rani, Ritusha Kumari Arya, Punam Barla, Anupa Barla, Anuradha Devi, Navneet Kaur, Neha Goyal.