India leaves for Oman to defend Women’s Junior Asia Cup title with an eye on World Cup qualification

The Asia Cup, set to be played between December 7 and 15, comprises 10 teams, divided into two pools of five sides each. India is in Pool A with China, Malaysia, Thailand, and Bangladesh.

India will be led by Jyoti Singh and vice-captain Sakshi Rana, with the team having multiple players with senior-team experience. The side is being coached by former India Captain Tushar Khandker. | Photo Credit: Hockey India

The Indian hockey team left for Oman on Tuesday, hoping to defend its Women’s Junior Asia Cup title, a tournament that is also a qualifying event for the FIH Junior World Cup.

India will be led by Jyoti Singh and vice-captain Sakshi Rana, with the team having multiple players with senior-team experience such as Vaishnavi Vitthal Phalke, Sunelita Toppo, Mumtaz Khan, Deepika and Beauty Dungdung. The side is being coached by former India Captain Tushar Khandker.

“We are very confident and upbeat about our campaign. We have a good, experienced team. We have worked hard over the past few months and the team is quite eager to do our best in Muscat, Oman,” Jyoti said.

The Asia Cup, set to be played between December 7 and 15 in Muscat, comprises 10 teams, divided into two pools of five sides each. India is in Pool A with China, Malaysia, Thailand, and Bangladesh while Pool B features South Korea, Japan, Chinese Taipei, Hong Kong and Sri Lanka.

“It’s heartening to see the Indian Junior Men’s team enter the knockout stage and they are cruising towards the title. We have been following their matches and we will be there to cheer for them in the remaining matches,” Sakshi said.

“We urge Indian hockey fans to watch us play and cheer for us. Muscat has a big Indian community, we are hopeful they will come to cheer us,”

India will begin its campaign against Bangladesh on December 8 at 8:30 pm IST.