India name 20-member junior girls hockey team for series against France
New Delhi, Jan 30 (PTI) India on Wednesday named a 20-member junior girls hockey team for the four-match home series against France to be held from February 8 to 13 in Lucknow and Gorakhpur.
The first two matches of the series will take place on February 8 and 9 at the Padma Shri Mohammad Shahid Synthetic Hockey Stadium in Lucknow.
The third match is scheduled to be held on February 11 at the Veer Bahadur Singh Sports College in Gorakhpur, while the teams will return to Lucknow for the fourth and last match.
The Indian team will be captained by Salima Tete while young forward Lalremsiami, who is part of the senior team presently touring Spain, will shoulder the duties of vice-captain.
"The upcoming matches against France will be helpful for our team in gaining match-fitness and experience different match situations. We will be up against a group of players who have played together for a considerably long time," said India's coach Baljeet Singh.
"Our players will get much-needed exposure and this challenge will help us in developing these players for bigger challenges that the team is going to face in the future, including the 8th Women's Junior Asia Cup."
Team:
Goalkeepers: Bichu Devi Kharibam, Khushboo.
Defenders: Philicia Toppo, Gagandeep Kaur, Salima Tete, Priyanka, Suman Devi Thoudam, Ishika Chaudhary.
Midfielders: Mahima Choudhary, Prabhleen Kaur, Mariana Kujur, Reet, Baljeet Kaur, Preeti.
Forwards: Lalremsiami, Sharmila Devi, Mumtaz Khan, Jiwan Kishori Toppo, Ajmina Kujur, Jyoti