Rani Rampal misses again as Hockey India names 34 chances for the Women’s National Camp

The Olympic qualifying tournaments will be played in Ranchi from January 13 to 19. India will be placed in Pool B along with New Zealand, Italy and the United States.

Under Rani Rampal, Indian women achieved their best ever result at the Olympic Games. (Image: ANI)

Bangalore: Former captain Rani Rampal was once again ignored as Hockey India named a core group of 34 players who will participate in a senior women’s hockey coaching camp on Thursday, aiming to strengthen preparations for the Olympic qualifiers in Ranchi and the Hockey5s World Cup.

Rampal, who led India to their best ever finish at the Olympics and finished fourth at the Tokyo Games, has been sidelined since Janneke Schopman took over as head coach from Sjoerd Marijne.
Although Rampal suffered several injuries during that period, he made a strong comeback at the National Games last year, scoring 18 goals for Haryana and leading the team to the top position. However, the 29-year-old finds herself out of the side despite being fully fit.

Earlier, Rampal had also asked the coach why she is out of the team. “What happened to me in the past two years was wrong. I came back from injury, was top scorer at the National Games, but was not selected 9th in the national team). The best people to answer this are the head coach or the selectors because I don’t know the answer,” Rani had said.

Meanwhile, the Indian players will join the camp after a short break from the trip to Spain after playing against Belgium, Germany, Ireland and the hosts in the 5 Nations Tournament. The Olympic qualifying tournaments will be played in Ranchi from January 13 to 19. India will be placed in Pool B along with New Zealand, Italy and the United States of America.

Group A consists of Germany, Japan, Chile and the Czech Republic. India had put up a dominant performance in the Jharkhand Women’s Asian Champions Trophy in Ranchi and will return to their happy hunting ground hoping to continue their momentum.

“The 5 Nations Tournament served as a good litmus test ahead of the Olympic qualifying tournaments. We have identified areas for improvement and will use this festive period to dot the i’s and cross the t’s,” says Janneke Schopman.

“The team is keen to return to Ranchi after their victory in the Asian Champions Trophy. With the little time we have left, we will focus on fine-tuning our game to ensure we are in the best position – physically, tactically and mentally – to secure qualification for the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris set.”
Team India will next head to Muscat, Oman where they will participate in the Hockey5s World Cup from January 24 to 27.

Indian selection:

Goalkeepers: Savita, Rajani Etimarpu, Bichu Devi Kharibam, Bansari Solanki.

Defenders: Deep Grace Ekka, Gurjit Kaur, Nikki Pradhan, Udita, Ishika Chaudhary, Akshata Abaso Dhekale, Jyoti Chhatri, Mahima Chaudhary.

Midfielders: Nisha, Salima Tete, Sushila Chanu Pukhrambam, Jyoti, Navjot Kaur, Monika, Mariana Kujur, Sonika, Neha, Baljeet Kaur, Reena Khokhar, Vaishnavi Vitthal Phalke, Ajmina Kujur.

Forward: Lalremsiami, Navneet Kaur, Vandana Katariya, Sharmila Devi, Deepika, Sangita Kumari, Mumtaz Khan, Sunelita Toppo, Beauty Dungdung.