New Delhi, Nov 19: Hockey India on Friday named the 18-member Indian Women’s Hockey Team for the upcoming Donghae Women’s Asian Champions Trophy which is scheduled to be held between 5 – 12 December.

As many as four players from Odisha, Deep Grace Ekka, Namita Toppo, Lilima Minz, Mariana Kujur have been included in the squad. India will begin their campaign on the opening day and will battle it out against China, Korea, Japan, Thailand and Malaysia in the single-pool tournament for top honours.

Speaking about the team composition, Chief Coach for Indian Women’s Hockey Team Janneke Schopman said, “Despite some unfortunate injuries and Senior players joining the Junior team for the Junior World Cup in South Africa, I feel we have selected a good team for the upcoming Women’s Asian Champions Trophy. This tournament will be a good opportunity for some young new players to get a taste of the highest international level and I’m excited to see if we can implement our training themes consistently.”

While India will play their opening match against Thailand on 5 December, they play Malaysia on 6 December and hosts and defending Champions Korea in their third match on 8 December. India plays China on 9 December and Japan on 11 December. The Final will take place on 12 December between the topper of the pool and the team that finished second in the pool. 

In the previous edition held in 2018, India finished runners-up behind Korea.

Indian Women’s Team:

Goalkeepers

1. Savita (C)

2. Rajani Etimarpu

Defenders

3. Deep Grace Ekka (VC)

4. Udita

5. Nikki Pradhan

6. Gurjit Kaur

Midfielders

7. Nisha

8. Sushila Chanu Pukhrambam

9. Namita Toppo

10. Monika

11. Neha

12. Jyoti

13. Lilima Minz

Forwards

14. Navneet Kaur

15. Vandana Katariya

16. Rajwinder Kaur

17. Mariana Kujur

18. Sonika