3^rd February 2016, Bengaluru: Hockey India, the apex body governing the sport of Hockey in India, today announced the squad for the Indian Women National team tour of South Africa, which includes matches against Germany, Scotland and hosts South Africa. The tour which is one of the many international exposure tours planned for the Indian eves ahead of the upcoming Summer Olympics in Rio will see Ritu Rani lead the team with assistance from Deepika. The team who have qualified for the summer Olympics for the first time in 36 years will play under the guidance of Chief Coach Neil Hawgood from 20^th February – 1^st Match 2016 across various locations in South Africa.

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The Indian team will play two matches each against the national teams of Germany, Scotland and hosts South Africa. Further matches are planned against the South African U21 squad. The Indian goalpost will be guarded by Savita, Rajani Etimarpu and Yogita Bali, while the defensive wall will comprise of Deep Grace Ekka, Deepika, Nameeta Toppo, Jaspreet Kaur, Sunita Lakra, Sushila Chanu Pukhrambam, Gurjit Kaur and Rashmita Minz. The pack of midfielders will comprise of Ritu Rani, Lilima Minz, Navjot Kaur, Hnialum Lal Ruat Feli, Renuka Yadav, Lily Chanu Mayengbam, Narinder Kaur, Nikki Pradhan, and Manpreet Kaur. The Indian attack will consist of Rani, Poonam Rani, Vandana Kataria, Anuradha Devi Thokchom, Preeti Dubey and Navpreet Kaur.

Speaking ahead of the tour, Neil Hawgood, Chief Coach, Indian Senior Women Teams said, “We are looking forward to the tour which will take place right after the South Asian Games. We are up against three world class teams and it will help us immensely in our preparations ahead of the Rio Olympics. We are taking a larger squad for the tour to South Africa so that we can assess more probables as we lead into the Olympics. There a few other international exposure trips that have been planned and all these trips will serve the purpose of preparing the girls for Rio later this year.”

The Indian Women’s National team will be heading to Guwahati, Assam to play the South Asian Games against Sri Lanka and Nepal from 7^th – 11^th February 2016.

THE INDIA WOMEN’S NATIONAL TEAM

GOALKEEPERS

1. Savita
2. Rajani Etimarpu
3. Yogita Bali

DEFENDERS

4. Deep Grace Ekka
5. Deepika (VC)
6. Namita Toppo
7. Jaspreet Kaur
8. Sunita Lakra
9. Susila Chanu Pukhrambam
10. Gurjit Kaur
11. Rashmita Minz

MIDFIELDERS

12. Ritu Rani (C)
13. Lilima Minz
14. Navjot Kaur
15. Hnialum Lal Ruat Feli
16. Renuka Yadav
17. Lily Chanu Mayengbam
18. Narinder Kaur
19. Nikki Pradhan
20. Manpreet Kaur

FORWARDS

21. Rani
22. Poonam Rani
23. Vandana Kataria
24. Anuradha Devi Thokchom
25. Preeti Dubey
26. Navpreet Kaur

Tags: Hockey India, India, South Africa, Sport, Women