Women’s team for Kenya,Cup qualifiers cleared

NEW DELHI, July 10: The Indian women's hockey team has been cleared to play a warm-up series in Kenya, and the ninth World Cup qualifiers i...

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NEW DELHI, July 10: The Indian women’s hockey team has been cleared to play a warm-up series in Kenya, and the ninth World Cup qualifiers in Harare (Zimbabwe), this month.

The team, led by Shashi Bala of Indian Railways, is expected to leave for Kenya on July 22 before it moves to Zimbabwe on July 28 for the qualifiers to be held from August 1 to 12. The government has cleared a 16-member team with two coaches minus the manager for the trips.

For the qualifiers, India have been placed in pool A with South Africa, Ireland, Canada, England and Japan while Pool B has China, New Zealand, Russia, Scotland, Spain and hosts Zimbabwe. The first six teams will qualify for the main rounds.

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Earlier, the team’s proposed tours to Canada and Germany to play a `Test’ series last month, was cancelled as the Indian Women’s Hockey Federation (IWHF) failed get the nod from the government. Later, the IWHF clarified that government had not cleared the trip, stating lack of funds as the reason.

The team, at present, undergoing the final camp in NIS Patiala , has been out of match practice for last six months.

TEAM: Tingoleima, Helen Mary, Sandeep Kaur, Shashi Bala (captain), Maristella Tirkey, Mukta Xalko, Sita Gossain, Sumrai Tete, Sunita Dalal, Nidhi Khullar, Manjinder Kaur, Pritam Thakran, Kamala Dalal, Suraj Lata Devi, Jyothi Kullu and Ferdina Ekka. Chief coach: Col. Balbir Singh; Asst coach: C A Poonacha

FIXTURE (league)

Aug 1: India vs Ireland; Aug 2: India vs England; Aug 4: India vs Japan; Aug 6: India vs S Africa; Aug 7: India vs Canada.yyy