Delhi, 30 April 2016: When the Indian eves led by Captain Ritu Rani and Vice-Captain Dipika Thakur, launch their tour of England on May 1, there will be two things at the top of their mind — learning from the mistakes from the Hawke’s Bay Cup and starting off strongly.
Hockey: Indian Eves all set for England tour
Chief Coach Neil Hawgood, his coaching staff and senior members of the squad, have singled out PCs for special attention in their preparatory camp. “It isn’t just winning and converting corners that has been singled out, but also not giving away too many to our opposition,” Hawgood said.
If India, ranked 13th on the FIH World Ranking list, are to outplay England, ranked 6th, they will need to pay special attention to this for the entire duration of the match. It will also help that experienced campaigner Ritu Rani will feature in the squad after missing the Hawke’s Bay Cup through injury. It is an inclusion that will provide a much-needed boost to the side.
Indian Team need to look to start games strongly. “At the Hawke’s Bay Cup, we lost our game against Japan because we conceded three goals in three minutes. After that it was 1-0 to us. We don’t start well and that puts the pressure on us,” said Ritu Rani, who will lead the team in England.
Hawgood also looked at this tour and their subsequent preparatory tours for the Olympics as a boost. “All the teams that we play now (till the Olympics) are in our pool (at the Olympics). We’ve got Great Britain in. Then we are planning Australia and Japan in Australia. They’re all in our pool as well. Then prior to the Olympics we are planning three Tests against the USA who are in our pool as well,” said Hawgood.
The tour will also give an opportunity to younger players to prove their strength and quality for the side, and seek a place for Rio.
Team List is as below:
Goalkeepers
- Savita
- Rajani Etimarpu
- Yogita Bali
Defenders
- Sunita Lakra
- Deep Grace Ekka
- Deepika (VC)
- Nikki Pradhan
- Monika
- Namita Toppo
- Hnialum Lal Ruat Feli
Midfielders
- Ritu Rani (C)
- Navjot Kaur
- Lilima Minz
- Lily Chanu
- Renuka Yadav
Forwards
- Anuradha Devi
- Vandana Katariya
- Preeti Dubey
- Poonam Rani
- Rani
- Punam Barla
Tags: Defenders, Dipika Thakur, England, FIH, Forwards, Goalkeepers, Hockey, Midfielders, Ritu Rani
