Hockey India names 21 players for junior women's camp

New Delhi [India], Jan 31 (ANI): Hockey India on Wednesday named 21 players for the junior women's national camp, which is set to begin on February 1 at the Eklavya Sports Stadium, Agra, Uttar Pradesh.

The players will train together till February 24, 2018.

Among the national campers Bichu Devi Kharibam of MP Hockey Academy, Salima Tete of Hockey Jharkhand, Sangita Kumari of Hockey Jharkhand, Mumtaz Khan of Hockey Uttar Pradesh were part of the India 'A' Team that participated in the Australian Hockey League (AHL) in Perth last year.

While Preeti and Chetan Rathi are from the National Hockey Academy based in Delhi, the rest of the 19 players were part of the junior core group.

With the Youth Olympic Games Qualifiers slated to be held in April in Bangkok, Thailand, Hockey India will be watching the progress of these young women closely.

"This is a preparation camp for the Youth Olympic Games Qualifiers. Since the event will be five-a-side hockey, we will be looking at selecting a team of 12 players plus four stand-by players," explained David John, Hockey India's High Performance Director.

The camp will be held on India's first ever five-a-side Hockey Turf developed at the Eklavya Sports Stadium in Agra, Uttar Pradesh.

"It will be an ideal training facility as it's built to FIH specifications. It is India's first five-a-side hockey pitch and we will have Coach Erik Wonink, who comes with the expertise in this format of hockey training the women in Agra," John added.

The full list is as follows:

Goal Keepers: Khushboo (Hockey Bhopal), Bichu Devi Kharibam (MP Hockey Academy).

Defenders : Priyanka (Hockey Haryana), Salima Tete (Hockey Jharkhand), Umra (Hockey Him), Antim (Hockey Him), Ishika Choudhary (MP Hockey Academy).

Mid-fielders: Manju Chorsiya (Hockey Him), Baljeet Kaur (Hockey Punjab), Sadhna Senger (MP Hockey Academy), Jiwan Kishori Toppo (Hockey Gangpur Odisha), Primanjali Toppo (Hockey Gangpur Odisha), Chetan Rathi (National Hockey Academy), Preeti (National Hockey Academy).

Forwards: Sangita Kumari (Hockey Jharkhand), Deepika Soreng (Hockey Jharkhand), Mumtaz Khan (Hockey Uttar Pradesh), Lal Rindiki (Hockey Mizoram), Janhabi Pradhan (Hockey Gangpur Odisha), Amritpal Kaur (Hockey Chandigarh), Reet (Hockey Haryana). (ANI)