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Savita Punia will lead an 18-member Indian women's hockey team at the upcoming Commonwealth Games. The CWG 2022 is scheduled to be held in Birmingham, United Kingdom, from July 28.
Experienced defender Deep Grace Ekka has been appointed Savita Punia's deputy for CWG 2022. The team will miss the services of Rani Rampal, who is still nursing an injury.
India finished fourth in the 2018 edition of the CWG in Gold Coast. The side lost to England in the bronze medal match and the same fixture was repeated at the Tokyo Olympics last year.
However, this time around, the Indian women's hockey team will want to better their performance, especially after an impressive campaign in their maiden FIH Pro League. India finished third behind Argentina and the Netherlands.
Experienced Indian team at CWG 2022
The Indian team is a seasoned one, with all the players having sufficient experience of playing at the highest level.
Indian women's team chief coach Janneke Schopman said the team has a good chance of winning a medal at the CWG 2022. She told Hockey India:
"We have chosen an experienced side for the Commonwealth Games and the players believe they have a good shot at a medal this time."
The coach went on to state that the morale of the team is high after a successful FIH Pro League outing and a good showing in the Women's World Cup. Schopman added:
"The team is upbeat after a good outing in FIH Pro League matches and we understand very well that the expectations are also high. We would have finished our World Cup campaign just days before the CWG so it was very essential for us to pick a physically fit team as the recovery time between the two events is just about 10 days."
Indian women's team for CWG 2022
The following 18 players have been selected for the Indian team for the upcoming Commonwealth Games.
Goalkeepers: Savita Punia (captain) and Rajani Etimarpu
Defenders: Deep Grace Ekka (vice-captain), Gurjit Kaur, Nikki Pradhan, and Udita
Also read: Hockey: Technical officer Sonia Bathla looking forward to Commonwealth Games
Midfielders: Nisha, Sushila Chanu Pukhrambam, Monika Malik, Neha Goyal, Jyoti, Navjot Kaur, and Salima Tete
Forwards: Vandana Katariya, Lalremsiami, Navneet Kaur, Sharmila Devi, and Sangita Kumari
Indian women's hockey team's CWG fixtures
The Indian women's hockey team is grouped alongside England, Canada, Ghana and Wales in Pool A. The Indian women's team will begin their campaign on July 29 against Ghana at the 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games.
Match 1: India vs Ghana
Date: July 29, 2022 Timings: 6:30 pm IST
Match 2: India vs Wales
Date: July 30, 2022 Timings: 11:30 pm IST
Match 3: India vs England
Date: August 2, 2022 Timings: 6:30 pm IST
Match 4: Canada vs India
Date: August 3, 2022 Timings: 3:30 pm IST
Match 5: India vs Wales
Date: August 4, 2022 Timings: 6:30 pm IST
