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A steady flow of junior talents through the ranks is key for the development of a senior team and one would be surprised to know that the Indian women’s hockey team have quite a number of players, who have been regularly featuring in the country’s junior teams as well as the senior team in various international competitions over the recent years.
The country’s bronze medal finish at the 2013 Junior World Cup in Monchengladbach was largely made possible by this bunch of talented girls, who play with the same flair for both the junior and senior teams.
The advantage of having the same set of players in the junior as well as in the senior teams is that on-field coordination become more robust and also there is a great deal of camaraderie among the girls, which results in positive results. Captain and Star striker Rani Rampal will be looking to add another feather to her cap as she leads the Indian junior hockey team in the 7th Women’s Junior Asia Cup which kicks off at Changzhou, China on Saturday.
The team have a plethora of girls, who have already represented the country in the junior as well as senior team – the likes of Deep Grace Ekka, Namita Toppo, Jaspreet Kaur, Navjot Kaur, Lily Chanu, Lilima Minz, Anupa Barla, Navneet Kaur besides skipper Rani lend plenty of utility to the side. “Our girls have worked hard in the Asia Cup camp. Of course, it is an advantage to have girls, who have played in the senior as well as the junior teams. There is good understanding among the girls as they have been playing together for a long while now in both levels. Hope India can make the most of it in Changzhou,” Rani said in an informal chat before leaving for China.
The 20-year-old Indian striker believes India have the ammunition to go one better than the runners-up finish in the last edition at Bangkok in 2012. “We lost to China 2-5 after leading 2-0 in the final. We have lost by the same margin to them in the league. I’m confident that our girls will rise to the occasion and help in cornering glory,” she oozes optimism.
And the stakes are quite high as well in the 7th Women’s Junior Asia Cup. “We want to make it to the final as the winner and runners-up qualify for the 2016 Junior Women’s World Cup to be held in Chile. The girls know the importance of qualifying for the World Cup through this tournament and we will give our best shot,” he quips.
But it won’t be a piece of cake for India as they have to counter teams like China, South Korea and Japan.
