Salima Tete, Lalremsiami included in women’s national camp

Salima Tete and Lalremsiami, silver medallists at the Youth Olympics in 2018, were included in a tentative 33-member group chosen for the women’s hockey national camp that begins in Bengaluru on Friday.

Chief coach Sjoerd Marijne will oversee the training at the camp. It serves as preparation for India’s tour of Spain, which begins on January 24.

Commenting on the objectives of the camp, Marijne said, “We will be working on getting to the right fitness level in a short 20-day camp to play matches during the team’s tour to Spain. We also want to train some new things we want to implement in our game.”

Sharpening skills

In 2018, the Indian women’s team improved its rankings — it is now the World No. 9 team. At the Asian Games and the Asian Champions Trophy, the team clinched the silver medal. At the Commonwealth Games, it progressed to the semifinals.

The team would attempt to clinch Olympic qualification this year. Marijne, elaborating on the aspects of play that needed improvement, said: “Better finishing and creating more scoring opportunities are the two key areas we need to improve.”

He added, “Having someone like Australia’s Glenn Turner was good but we can’t expect that we will now score more goals because of that 10-day camp. Every input will only improve the process of scoring more goals and this camp with Glenn was one of them. He shared his experience from his career and those things can help players.”

Read | Good outing for Indian women in 2018, says Rani Rampal

Several senior players have retained their place in the core group.

Among goalkeepers, Savita, Rajani Etimarpu and Sonal Minj have received a call-up. Among defenders, Deep Grace Ekka, Sunita Lakra, Sushila Chanu Phukhrambam, Gurjit Kaur, Rashmita Minz, Suman Devi Thoudam, Mahima Choudhary and Nisha have also been included.

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Midfielders Nikki Pradhan, Monika, Lilima Minz, Namita Toppo, Neha Goyal, Udita, Jyoti, Anuja Singh, Shyama Tidgam, Sonika, and Karishma Yadav also found a place in the squad.

So also did these forwards: Rani, Lalremsiami, Navneet Kaur, Navjot Kaur, Rajwinder Kaur, Vandana Katariya, Anupa Barla, Priyanka Wankhede, Reena Khokhar and Leelavathy Mallamada Jaya.