Hindustan Times: Indian junior women’s hockey camp for Youth Olympic Games probables to begin in Agra

With the Youth Olympic Games Qualifiers slated to be held in April in Bangkok, Hockey India will be watching the progress of the 21 Indian Junior Women’s Hockey Team probables, who will train at the Ekalavya Sports Stadium in Agra from February 1 to 24..

Hockey forward Mumtaz Khan, daughter of a vegetable seller in Lucknow, has a dream to win a gold medal for India at the Olympics.?With that in mind, she keeps trying hard to come good whenever she gets a chance to wear the Indian hockey team jersey.

Mumtaz was quite excited to play for India ‘A’ which participated in the Australian Hockey League (AHL) in Perth last year, and wants to be part of bigger tournaments and victories in the future.

“Winning an Olympic gold is my biggest dream, but till then I will not leave any chance of success go out of my hands,” Mumtaz said.

Mumtaz is among the 21 probables named for the junior women’s national camp, beginning Thursday, at the Eklavya Sports Stadium in Agra, Uttar Pradesh. The players will train till February 24.

With the Youth Olympic Games Qualifiers slated to be held in April in Bangkok, Hockey India will be watching the progress of these young women closely. Among the national campers, Bichu Devi Kharibam of MP Hockey Academy, Salima Tete of Hockey Jharkhand, Sangita Kumari of Hockey Jharkhand also played in Australian Hockey League (AHL). 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.

“This is a preparation camp for the Youth Olympic Games Qualifiers. Since the event will be five-a-side hockey, we will be looking to select a team of 12 players plus four stand-by players,” Hockey India’s high performance director, David John, said on the eve of the camp.

The camp, however, would mark the official launching of the India’s first ever five-a-side hockey turf at the Eklavya stadium.

“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,” added John.

CAMPERS

Goal keepers: Khushboo, Bichu Devi Kharibam; Defenders: Priyanka, Salima Tete, Umra, Antim, Ishika Choudhary; Mid-fielders: Manju Chorsiya, Baljeet Kaur, Sadhna Senger, Jiwan Kishori Toppo, Primanjali Toppo, Chetan Rathi, Preeti; Forwards: Sangita Kumari, Deepika Soreng, Mumtaz Khan, Lal Rindiki, Janhabi Pradhan, Amritpal Kaur, Reet.