India name squad for Women’s Junior Hockey World Cup 2023; to train in Argentina ahead of the tournament

Indian Women’s Junior Hockey Team celebrates their Women — The Indian Women’s Junior Hockey Team celebrate their Women's Junior Asia Cup 2023 victory. (Image via Olympics.com)

Hockey India named a strong Indian squad for the Junior Women’s Hockey World Cup 2023 to be held from November 29 to December 10 at Santiago in Chile. Preeti was named as the skipper, with Rutuja Dadaso Pisal to act as her deputy.

India are placed in Group C alongside Canada, Belgium and Germany. They are scheduled to lock horns with Canada in their opening match of the tournament on November 29. Thereafter, India will be up against Germany and Belgium in the pool matches on November 30 and December 2, respectively.

The Indian squad consists of 18 players while Thounaojam Nirupama Devi and Jyothi Edula were picked as replacements. India will train and take part in a few warm-up matches in Argentina before going to Chile.

Tushar Khandker, the coach of the Indian Women's Junior Team, admitted that picking the team for the mega event was not a piece of cake for the selectors.

“We have an incredible talent pool, it wasn't easy to select the final squad, but I believe we have chosen the best one for the World Cup and these players have worked very hard in the past couple of months leading up to the event,” Khandekar was quoted as saying to Hockey India.

Last time around, India finished at fourth place and agonizingly missed out on winning the bronze medal.

Pool A comprises hosts Chile, Australia, South Africa, and the Netherlands. Argentina, Korea, Spain, and Zimbabwe will be fighting it out in Group B. In Pool D, the United States of America (USA), England, Japan, and New Zealand will fight in a bid to qualify for the quarterfinals.