Hockey India names 18-member Women’s Hockey Team for Malaysia Tour

New Delhi: Hockey India on Wednesday announced the 18-member Indian Women’s Hockey team for the five-match series in Kuala Lumpur.

The team will be lead by the ace goalkeeper Savita and Deep Grace Ekka has been named as the vice-captain.

Savita will be joined by Rajani Etimarpu in the goalkeeping duties. The defence line-up includes youngster Salima Tete, Reena Khokar, Deep Grace Ekka, Rashmita Minz, and Sushila Chanu Pukhrambam along with Sunita Lakra who is making a comeback into the squad after missing the Spain Tour.

The midfield will be enhanced by the inclusion of Monika, who is making a comeback from her injury. She will join the likes of Karishma Yadav, Nikki Pradhan, Neha Goyal and Lilima Minz in the midfield.

Jyoti, Vandana Katariya, Lalremsiami, Navjot Kaur and Navneet Kaur make up the forward line of the team.

“One of the things we wanted to improve after the Spain Tour was our One Vs One defending and create more opportunities after we intercept the ball. These are the two key areas we want to focus on in Malaysia and we keep working on individual consistency of players,” Sjoerd Marijne, the coach of India Women’s hockey team said.

“It is an opportunity that the youngsters must make use of for their future prospects. “Young players get to show their best performance on the international level and it’s important for us in case of creating depth in the selection,” he added.

Indian Women’s team Goalkeepers: Rajani Etimarpu, Savita.

Defenders: Salima Tete, Sunita Lakra, Deep Grace Ekka, Reena Khokhar, Rashmita Minz, Sushila Chanu Pukhrambam.

Midfielders: Monika, Karishma Yadav, Nikki Pradhan, Neha Goyal, Lilima Minz.

Forwards: Jyoti, Vandana Katariya, Lalremsiami, Navjot Kaur, Navneet Kaur.

[source_without_link]ANI[/source_without_link]