Indian women's hockey team announced for Asian Champions Trophy

According to a Sportstar report, the Indian women's hockey team has been announced for the Asian Champions Trophy to be held in Bhopal. For this important tournament, veteran goalkeeper Savita Punia has been rested and in her place 25-year-old Bansari Solanki has been included in the team. Bansari was earlier a part of the team that won the Asia Cup last year. As another goalkeeper in the team, Bichu Devi Kharibam has managed to retain her place. Midfielder Salema Tete will continue to lead the team in this tournament as well. This is the first international competition for the Indian team after winning a historic gold medal at the Asian Games held in Japan last month.

Chief Coach Sjoerd Marijne stated that this tournament is a way to give other players an opportunity to showcase their talent on the international stage. He further added that some players will be seen playing in positions different from their usual roles so that their performance can be evaluated. As part of this strategy, Rutuja Dadaso Pisal, who played as a forward in the Asian Games, has been placed in the midfield this time. Similarly, midfielder Nikki Pradhan has been moved to the defence line-up and Ishika Chaudhary from defence to the midfield. Coach Marijne expressed excitement about playing in front of a home crowd and ending the year well.

This tournament will be held from 19 to 28 November at the newly built International Sports Complex located at Nathu Barkheda in Bhopal. India will enter this tournament as the defending champion. A total of 6 teams namely India, China, Japan, Malaysia, Thailand and South Korea will participate in the competition. India will play its first match against Malaysia on 19 November. Thereafter, it will face South Korea on 21 November, Thailand on 22 November, China on 24 November and Japan on 25 November. The tournament will be played in a round-robin format, in which the top 4 teams will qualify for the semi-finals. The semi-finals will be played on 27 November and the medal matches on 28 November.

Hockey India President Dilip Tirkey stated that this tournament is an important opportunity to carry forward the momentum of the Asian Games victory. He expressed confidence that with the support of the home crowd, the players will put up a stellar performance and bring glory to the country. Notably, India has won this title in 2016, 2023 and 2024. South Korea has also claimed this trophy 3 times so far.

The Indian women's hockey team has been consistently performing well at the international level for a long time and the gold medal won at the Asian Games is considered one of their biggest recent achievements. The team has earlier also proved its dominance by becoming the winner of this tournament on several occasions.