Head-coach Janneke Schopman shares cryptic message on Deep Grace Ekka's absence from the FIH Olympic Qualifiers

When India's team for the FIH Olympic Qualifiers was announced, certain names missing. One particularly glaring omission was that of defender Deep Grace Ekka.

Now, the Indian team’s head coach, Janneke Schopman, has shared a cryptic message on why the 29-year-old won't be in action at Ranchi.

Ekka, who was a part of the gold-medal winning squad at the 2023 Asian Champions Trophy, has played a crucial role in the team’s wins over the years. With India notoriously lacking in the conversions of PCs, which happens to be an area of expertise for the defender, many were curious about her absence from the squad.

Recently, when asked about the issue in a media interaction, head coach Janneke Schopman kept her statement short, simply saying,

“Grace needs to tell herself why she is not here.”

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India at the FIH Olympic Qualifiers

Meanwhile, India are set to get the action underway at the FIH Olympic Qualifiers in Ranchi starting tomorrow (January 13). So far, the Schopman-led side have played two practice matches, one against Germany and one against Czech Republic.

The team went down 4-2 against their German opponents on Tuesday, before notching a 2-0 win against Czech Republic on Thursday.

Speaking to the media about their loss to Germany, captain Savita Punia wasn't too concerned, saying:

“If you remember, till a few years back we would even struggle to enter their half during a game. Now we are able to challenge them and even the practice match we lost, it was because of us not sticking to our plans in the 4th quarter. So we know what we can do,”

For their first clash at the FIH Olympic Qualifiers, India will face the United States, whom they have previously gotten the better of on multiple occasions.

Post that, India will face New Zealand on January 14th and Italy on January 16th.