Hockey eves embark for Olympic berth mission

After the Indian men's team historical debacle at the Olympic qualifiers, all eyes will be on Indian Women's Hockey Team which embarked to take part in the Olympic qualifiers to be held at Kazan, Russia from April 19 to 27 on Tuesday night.

The teams’ confidence is on new high after Australian hockey stalwart Ric Charlesworth had an interaction with the women's hockey players, bound for the Beijing Olympic qualifiers.

Though the interaction was too short with Ric but chief coach MK Kaushik feels that it had certainly made a great impact on team members, as it will put them in good stead during the competition.

The 18-member team will be led by ace Indian striker Mamta Kharab. The team has also bolstered by the return of former Indian captain Pritam Siwach while Shahbad girl drag-flick specialist Jasjeet Kaur will lead India’s challenge in short corners.

The team had left well in advance, ten days before, to get used to the weather conditions, as it will be very cold there which can be the crucial factor and major obstacle in India’s quest of Olympic qualification.

Kaushik exuded confidence over his wards before the departure and feels that India has a realistic chance of making it to the Beijing Olympics.

Indian Women Hockey Federation (IWHF), General Secretary, Amrit Bose, valued the contribution of City Limousines (India) Ltd., which has been kind enough to be the official sponsors of women’s hockey team till 2010.

SQUAD: Dipika Murty, Marita Tirkey (goalkeepers), Binita Toppo, Suman Bala, Rajwinder Kaur (defenders), Subhadra Pradhan, Gagandeep Kaur, Rosalind Ralte, Asunta Lakra, TH Ranjita (mid-filder), Mamta Kharab (captain), Saba Anjum, Surinder Kaur, Jasjeet Kaur, Rita Rani, Deepika Thakur, Rani Devi, Pritam Siwach.

OFFICIALS: M.K. Kaushik, Chief Coach, Vasu Thapliyal, Asst. Coach, A.B. Subbaiah, Goalkeeping Coach, Amrit Bose, Manager Dr. S.R. Sarala, Doctor Yogesh Kumar, Physiotherapist and Rajender Kumar, Video Analyst