16-member India women’s hockey squad announced for Tokyo Olympics, 8 players to make Games debut4Photo© news18.com

16-member India women’s hockey squad announced for Tokyo Olympics, 8 players to make Games debut

, 16 news, 2 views

Hockey India on Thursday announced a 16-member women's hockey squad for this year's Tokyo Olympics which starts on July 23. The squad features eight players who will make their debut at the Games and eight others who played at Rio 2016, where India were knocked out in the group stage.

Rani Rampal, goalkeeper Savita Punia, Deep Grace Ekka, Sushila Chanu Pukhrambam, Monika, Nikki Pradhan, Navjot Kaur and Vandana Katariya are the players who featured in the 2016 Olympics. It was the first time in 36 years that an India women's hockey team had played at the Games. Tokyo 2020 will be India's third appearance overall, with the team having made its Olympic debut in 1980.

"This team has worked very hard over the last few years and has made progress consistently. There's a good mix of experienced players and new talent, which is excellent. We look forward to taking on the best in the world in Tokyo. This is a team with a lot of potential and drive which we hope to channelise to our best performance yet," said head coach Sjoerd Marijne.