<p> Striker Rani will lead an 18-member Indian women’s hockey for the 15-day tour of Europe, beginning from September 5 in the Netherlands.<br /><br />In-form goalkeeper Savita will shoulder the duties of vice-captain.<br /><br />In their previous outing at the Hockey World League Semifinal, the team lost to England in the quarterfinal and finished eighth.<br /><br />The team had begun the year on a positive note with a five-match series win against Belarus followed by a podium finish at the World League Round 2 in Canada. However, they lost a five-match series to higher-ranked New Zealand ahead of the World League Semifinal in Johannesburg.<br /><br />“I wouldn’t say we dropped our performance after starting the year on a winning note. Our exposure against New Zealand was good despite the loses and we will be working on the mistakes we made in Johannesburg during the on-going camp in Bengaluru. We need to be more consistent and the team is positively working towards achieving better results,” sad Rani.<br /><br />Coach Sjoerd Marijne felt the Holland experience will throw open a bigger pool of players to choose from for the all-important 2017 Women’s Asia Cup in Japan.<br /><br />The squad: Goalkeepers: Savita (vice-captain), Rajani Etimarpu. Defenders: Deep Grace Ekka, Gurjit Kaur, Navdeep Kaur, Sunita Lakra, Rashmita Minz. Midfielders: Namita Toppo, Nikki Pradhan, Monika, Karishma Yadav, Lilima Minz, Neha Goyal. Forwards: Rani (captain), Poonam Rani, Vandana Katariya, Reena Khokhar, Lalremsiami.<br /><br /> </p>
<p> Striker Rani will lead an 18-member Indian women’s hockey for the 15-day tour of Europe, beginning from September 5 in the Netherlands.<br /><br />In-form goalkeeper Savita will shoulder the duties of vice-captain.<br /><br />In their previous outing at the Hockey World League Semifinal, the team lost to England in the quarterfinal and finished eighth.<br /><br />The team had begun the year on a positive note with a five-match series win against Belarus followed by a podium finish at the World League Round 2 in Canada. However, they lost a five-match series to higher-ranked New Zealand ahead of the World League Semifinal in Johannesburg.<br /><br />“I wouldn’t say we dropped our performance after starting the year on a winning note. Our exposure against New Zealand was good despite the loses and we will be working on the mistakes we made in Johannesburg during the on-going camp in Bengaluru. We need to be more consistent and the team is positively working towards achieving better results,” sad Rani.<br /><br />Coach Sjoerd Marijne felt the Holland experience will throw open a bigger pool of players to choose from for the all-important 2017 Women’s Asia Cup in Japan.<br /><br />The squad: Goalkeepers: Savita (vice-captain), Rajani Etimarpu. Defenders: Deep Grace Ekka, Gurjit Kaur, Navdeep Kaur, Sunita Lakra, Rashmita Minz. Midfielders: Namita Toppo, Nikki Pradhan, Monika, Karishma Yadav, Lilima Minz, Neha Goyal. Forwards: Rani (captain), Poonam Rani, Vandana Katariya, Reena Khokhar, Lalremsiami.<br /><br /> </p>
