New Delhi: Extending further what can be quoted as “Midfielder is the leader” theory, Hockey India named Sonika as the captain of the Junior Women’s squad for 5-Nations International Junior Hockey Tournament Valencia 2016 scheduled during October 24- 30.
The selection of captain was done along with the announcement of a 20-member team which has defender Rashmita Minz as the deputy. Other members of the team are Divya Thepe, Sonal Minj (Goalkeepers); Salima Tete, Asmita Barla, Ritu, Mahima Choudhary, Gagandeep Kaur (defenders); Udita, Manpreet Kaur, Karishma Yadav, Navpreet Kaur, Navneet Kaur (midfielders) and Jyoti, Puja Yadav, Alka Dungdung, Sangita Kumari, Amrinder Kaur, Jyoti Gupta (forwards).
Speaking about the importance of the tournament and preparatory phase, Baljeet Singh Saini, Indian Junior Women’s Hockey Team Coach, said, “This tournament will be good exposure for the women’s team as we play top European teams and for many this is their first international exposure. The athletes have been undergoing rigorous training camps in SAI, Bhopal and have been also closely watched by Indian Women Hockey Team Chief Coach Neil Hawgood.”
India will be keen to make the most out of matches against heavy-weight teams.
The Indian Junior Women’s team is expected to face tough challenge in the tournament as they will play against the best teams from Europe including Germany, England, Spain and Belgium. Indian Women Hockey Team Chief Coach Neil Hawgood will be keen to see the pool he will get for the Senior team from this tournament and this makes the tournament very important for the girls who would like to gain confidence of Hawgood to rise to the senior level.