Hindustan Times: Rani Rampal to lead 18-member India women’s hockey team for European tour

Rani Rampal will lead the 18-member India women’s hockey team for a fortnight-long European tour.

Haryana’s Rani Rampal will lead the 18-member Indian women’s hockey team for a fortnight-long European tour starting September 5. The team will play a series of matches with the Netherlands.

During the tour, chief coach Sjoerd Marijne also plans to try new combination to prepare the team for more challenging tasks ahead. The Dutch expert aims for a podium finish in the eighth women’s Asian Cup to be held in Japan from October 25 to November 5.

Recently, India’s campaign in the Hockey World League Semifinal in Johannesburg, South Africa ended on a not-so-encouraging note. The team led by Rani finished eighth overall and missed automatic berth for the 2018 World Cup.

After the European tour, the team will also compete in the Australian Hockey League from September 28 to October 9.

Squad: Savita (vice captain), Rajani Etimarpu (goalkeepers), Deep Grace Ekka, Gurjit Kaur, Navdeep Kaur, Sunita Lakra, Rashmita Minz (all defenders), Namita Toppo, Nikki Pradhan, Monika, Karishma Yadav, Lilima Minz, Neha Goyal (all midfieders), Rani Ramphal (captain), Poonam Rani, Vandana Katariya, Reena Khokhar, Lalremsiami.