Indian girls’s hockey staff had been dealt a significant blow to their Asia Cup hopes major ahead and drag-flicker Deepika has not travelled with the nationwide staff to China for the ladies’s continental championship as a result of a hamstring harm sustained throughout a coaching session, Hockey India introduced on Saturday.
Deepika, who will likely be in rehab for the following few weeks, has been changed by Sakshi within the Indian squad for the event which will likely be held from September 5 to 14 in Hangzhou. Regardless of the staff’s downturn of fortunes because the Paris Olympic qualifiers in Ranchi earlier final yr, Deepika has been probably the most improved Indian gamers in latest occasions. One of many rarer commodities on this planet of girls’s hockey – a ahead who additionally doubles-up as the principle drag flicker for the aspect – Deepika was the participant of the event on the Asian Champions Trophy final yr in Rajgir as Harendra Singh earmarked her as the principle attacking participant round which the staff revolved.
The Indian staff has been struggling this yr already, having been relegated from the FIH Professional League the place they completed final after a wretched European leg. However even in these matches, Deepika’s enhancements in drag flicking was seen as Harendra had organized for a pre-event camp with Dutch legend Taeke Taekema. The onus on dragflicks within the Asia Cup will now seemingly fall on Manisha Chauhan.
The event in Hangzhou is an important one this yr because it acts as a World Cup. The winner will qualify for subsequent yr’s marquee occasion to be held in Belgium and Netherlands.
India has been drawn in Pool B, the place they’ll face Japan, Thailand, and Singapore. The staff will open their marketing campaign in opposition to Thailand on fifth September, adopted by a conflict with Japan on sixth September. India will play their ultimate pool-stage match in opposition to Singapore on eighth September.
The squad, which will likely be led by Salima Tete, incorporates a balanced mixture of youth and expertise with goalkeepers Bansari Solanki and Bichu Devi Kharibam offering depth underneath the publish. The defence unit will likely be marshalled by skilled gamers like Nikki Pradhan and Udita, supported by kids Manisha Chauhan, Jyoti, Suman Devi Thoudam, and Ishika Chaudhary.
Within the midfield, the staff boasts robust names similar to Neha, Captain Salima Tete, Lalremsiami, Sharmila Devi, Sunelita Toppo, and Vaishnavi Vitthal Phalke, making certain each creativity and stability. The ahead line contains of Navneet Kaur, Sangita Kumari, Mumtaz Khan, Magnificence Dungdung, and Rutaja Dadaso Pisal, with now Sakshi into the combo.
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