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Rani to lead Indian women
Pragya Tiwari
DHNS
Sagar Kulkarni
A S Dasan
Last Updated IST

Rani Rampal will lead an 18-member Indian women's hockey team for the season-opening tour of Spain starting January 26.

Goalkeeper Savita Punia has been named vice-captain. India will play four matches with the Spain national team and two matches against the 2018 Women's World Cup runners-up Ireland.

The Indian team will leave on January 24 for the Spain Tour from Bengaluru where they have been based for the past two weeks for the national camp.

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Rajani Etimarpu is the second goalkeeper in the squad. Defender Sushila Chanu Pukhrambam makes a comeback to the team after missing out on the World Cup and Jakarta-Palembang Asian Games last year due to injury.

The back line includes Salima Tete, who led the India under-18 team to a silver medal at the Youth Olympic Games in Buenos Aires, along with experienced Deep Grace Ekka, Reena Khokhar, Nikki Pradhan and drag-flicker Gurjit Kaur.

"The team has a different mix of players this time with some of the key players like Sunita Lakra, Namita Toppo among a few other experienced players being rested. The idea was to give more players a chance to experience playing at a top level so we can create more depth in our selection ahead of the Olympic qualifiers," said chief coach Sjoerd Marijne.

The team: Goalkeepers: Savita (vice-captain), Rajani Etimarpu. Defenders: Reena Khokhar, Deep Grace Ekka, Salima Tete, Nikki Pradhan, Gurjit Kaur, Sushila Chanu Pukhrambam. Midfielders: Lilima Minz, Karishma Yadav, Sonika, Neha Goyal. Forwards: Rani Rampal (captain), Vandana Katariya, Navneet Kaur, Lalremsiami, Udita, Navjot Kaur.

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(Published 18 January 2019, 17:24 IST)