Janneke Schopman looking to build on good run ahead of Pro League and World Cup

By PTI

BENGALURU: The Indian women’s hockey team will be focussing on increasing its level of fitness and speed, according to chief coach Janneke Schopman, who is hopeful the side can build upon its recent successful run in next month’s FIH Pro League matches and the upcoming World Cup.

Following a successful FIH Pro League home leg, India are perched on top of the points table.

The team has commenced its preparations for the final set of Pro League matches next month as well as the women’s World Cup, scheduled to begin on July 1 in Spain and Netherlands.

India will be up against teams like Belgium, Argentina and USA in their remaining Pro League games before heading to the World Cup.

“We made good progress in the last months and we will look to build on our performance.

“The focus will be on increasing our level of fitness and speed combined with finetuning our game principles. I’m keen to see the players individually take a step forward, as they know what areas they want to work on,” Schopman was quoted as saying in a media release.

The camp for the core probables, which began on Sunday at the SAI Centre here, will conclude on May 31.

The 36-member probable list includes a mix of experienced players such as Savita, Gurjit Kaur, Deep Grace Ekka, Navjot Kaur, along with young players like Bichu Devi Kharibam, Ishika Chaudhary, Sharmila Devi, Salima Tete and Lalremsiami, who were part of team that finished fourth at the recently concluded junior World Cup in South Africa.

Men’s team begins preparations for Asia Cup

The Indian men’s team will begin its preparation for the upcoming Hero Asia Cup and the last two Pro League double-headers against Belgium and Netherlands, respectively.

The core probable group is set to report to the SAI centre here on Monday.

It features a mix of veteran players such as PR Sreejesh, Amit Rohidas, Manpreet Singh, Harmanpreet Singh and Akashdeep Singh, along with young guns Abhishek, Sukhjeet Singh and Jugraj Singh, who recently made their international debuts for the team.

The senior men’s camp will end on June 4.

Core groups of junior and ‘A’ sides also regroup

Following their heart-breaking fourth-place finish at the women’s junior World Cup in South Africa, the junior team will also regroup at the camp in Bengaluru.

Apart from the fresh faces, the list also includes players like Khushboo, Vaishnavi Phalke, Beauty Dungdung and Mumtaz Khan, who were an integral part of the team at the marquee event.

The 33-member core probable group will report to coach Erik Wonink at the national camp.

After having a short break, newly-formed India ‘A’ core groups too will assemble at the national coaching camp.

The women’s ‘A’ core group and will report to former India forward and two-time Olympian Deepak Thakur, while men will report to former skipper Sardar Singh.

Core groups:

Senior women Goalkeepers: Savita, Rajani Etimarpu and Bichu Devi Kharibam Defenders: Deep Grace Ekka, Gurjit Kaur, Nikki Pradhan, Udita, Ishika Chaudhary, Suman Devi Thoudam, Akshata Abaso Dhekale, Rashmita Minz, Nisha, Salima Tete Midfielders: Mahima Choudhary, Sushila Chanu Pukhrambam, Jyoti, Navjot Kaur, Monika, Namita Toppo, Sonika, Baljeet Kaur, Upasana Singh Forwards: Lalremsiami, Navneet Kaur, Neha, Rajwinder Kaur, Vandana Katariya, Sharmila Devi, Mariana Kujur, Deepika, Sangita Kumari, Preeti Dubey, Aishwarya Rajesh Chavan In Rehabilitation: Rani, Reena Khokhar, Manpreet Kaur

Senior men Goalkeepers: PR Sreejesh, Krishan B Pathak, Suraj Karkera Defenders: Harmanpreet Singh, Amit Rohidas, Surender Kumar, Varun Kumar, Jarmanpreet Singh, Nilam Sanjeep Xess, Dipsan Tirkey, Mandeep Mor, Sanjay Midfielders: Manpreet Singh, Nilakanta Sharma, Sumit, Hardik Singh, Jaskaran Singh, Rajkumar Pal, Shamsher Singh, Vivek Sagar Prasad, Rabichandra Singh Moirangthem, Ashis Kumar Topno, Jugraj Singh Forwards: Gurjant Singh, Mandeep Singh, Lalit Kumar Upadhyay, Akashdeep Singh, Gursahibjit Singh, Shilanand Lakra, Dilpreet Singh, Abhishek, Mohd Raheel, Sukhjeet Singh, Simranjeet Singh, Gurinder Singh.