Dependable keeper Savita Punia shortlisted for women’s national hockey camp in Bengaluru; Rani Rampal dropped  

Dependable goalkeeper Savita Punia, who recently tied the knot with Ankit Balhara in Chandigarh, has been named in the core group of probables in preparation for the Asian Games.

According to Hockey India, 33 players have been shortlisted for the national camp scheduled to start on April 9 at Sports Authority of India (SAI) complex in Bengaluru. Former Indian skipper Rani Rampal, who led India to a fourth-place finish in the Tokyo Olympics, has been dropped from the camp.

The camp will conclude on May 13 and the national team will tour Down Under to play the Australian women’s team as part of the preparations for the postponed 2022 Asian Games scheduled to be held in Hangzhou, China, in September.

“We’re looking to improve our team structure and tactics. Playing Australia in Australia at the end of this camp will help us evaluate our performance,” women’s chief hockey coach Janneke Schopman said.

Meanwhile, Hockey India also announced that former Japan women’s hockey team head coach Anthony Farry will join the Indian women’s team as an analytical coach.

Farry was an assistant coach for Hockey ACT and Hockey Australia between December 2008 and 2011. He was also Canada men’s hockey team head coach and High-Performance Director between August 2011 and February 2017. Farry also went on to lead Japan women’s hockey team as the head coach and High-Performance Director between February 2017 and August 2020. Under his guidance, Japan won their first gold medal at the 2018 Asian Games in Indonesia.

The Core Group for the National Camp includes goalkeepers Savita, Rajani Etimarpu, Bichu Devi Kharibam and Bansari Solanki.

Among the defenders named for the camp are Deep Grace Ekka, Gurjit Kaur, Nikki Pradhan, Udita, Ishika Chaudhary, Akshata Abaso Dhekale, Jyoti Chhatri, and Mahima Chaudhary.

Nisha, Salima Tete, Sushila Chanu Pukhrambam, Jyoti, Navjot Kaur, Monika, Mariana Kujur, Sonika, Neha, Baljeet Kaur, Reena Khokhar, Vaishnavi Phalke, and Ajmina Kujur are the midfielders.

Forwards include Lalremsiami, Navneet Kaur, Vandana Katariya, Sharmila Devi, Deepika, Sangita Kumari, Mumtaz Khan, and Sunelita Toppo.