India start preparatory camp ahead of Champions Challenge 1

Patiala: A three-week long preparatory camp for India`s senior women core probables for the FIH Champions Challenge 1 on Monday started at the National Institute of Sports (NIS) here and will continue till April 12.

The FIH Champions Challenge 1 is scheduled to be held at Glasgow from April 27 to May 4. India is placed in Pool A alongside Korea, Belgium and hosts Scotland while USA, South Africa, Spain and Ireland form Pool B. Indian eves opening match is against Korea on April 27. Indian senior women`s team will depart for Ireland on April 10 to play a three-match Test series against the Irish national side as part of preparation and acclimatisation ahead of the Champions Challenge 1. The FIH Champions Challenge 1 is a crucial tournament for Indian senior women`s team as post that they will play for other major events like Commonwealth Games in Glasgow and Asian Games in Incheon, South Korea. "The preparatory camp is set to take off today and we are expecting to create the finest of the senior women`s squad for the upcoming championship and future challenges as well. The team has got a strong squad lined up and the preparatory camp is going to smoothen out the rough edges. This preparatory camp will help deliver bigger and better results," Hockey India secretary general Narinder Batra said. The 33 senior women core probables for the preparatory camp are: Goalkeepers: Yogita Bali, Savita, Rajni Etimarpu. Defenders: Deep Grace Ekka, Deepika, Kirandeep Kaur, Sunita Lakra, Sandeep Kaur, Manjit Kaur, Monika Malik, Sushila Chanu, M N Ponnamma, Asunta Lakra, Joydeep Kaur, Jaspreet Kaur. Midfielders: Ritu Rani, Namita Toppo, Chanchan Devi Thokchom, Lilima Minz, Liliy Chanu, Navjot Kaur, Amandeep Kaur, Renuka Yadav, Soundarya Yendala. Forwards: Vandana Katariya, Rani, Poonam Rani, Ritusha Arya, Navneet Kaur, Jaswinder Kaur, Neha Goyal, Anupa Barla, Anuradha Devi.