BHOPAL: Hockey India on Thursday named the 20-member Indian Junior Women’s Hockey Team for the Women’s Junior World Cup. Madhya Pradesh played an important role in the team.
Sample this: Both goalkeepers-Bichu Devi and Khushboo Khan and vice-captain Ishika Choudhary are from Madhya Pradesh. Bichu and Ishika are regular members of the MP women’s hockey academy.
Congratulating the players, sports minister Yashodhrara Raje Scindia said that Madhya Pradesh is no longer an unknown name when it comes to producing world-class players.
“In the men’s category, it was Vivek Sagar who made the state proud after helping the Indian team win a bronze medal in the Tokyo Olympics after 40 years. Now, 3 girls are from MP. Both goalkeepers are from Madhya Pradesh only which is enough to gauge the level of players the state is producing in hockey and other games,” said Scindia.
Bichu Devi has recently made her Senior India debut at the FIH Hockey Pro League matches against Germany. A bright player Khushboo, belongs to Bhopal, has four siblings, who have struggled hard for everything in life. Her family still lives in a shanty in the state capital.
Khushboo, who hones her goalkeeping skills by pitting herself against male players in Bhopal, said, “Defending the goalpost against men has made it easier for me to play with girls in national tournaments. Later, it turned out to be a habit for me to practise with the boys as I peg my game at their speed and strength. But after getting into the team, I have stopped playing against boys.”
The Indian team, grouped in Pool D along with Germany, Malaysia and Wales. They will kick-start their campaign on April 2 with their first match against Wales Junior Women followed by their match against German Junior team on 3 April 2022 and they will play their last group-stage match on 5 April 2022 against Malaysia.
The Quarter Finals will be held on April 8 whereas the Semi Finals is scheduled for April 10 and the Final on April 12. The Indian Junior Women’s Team’s best show in recent times was at the FIH Junior Women’s World Cup in 2013 when they finished on the podium with a Bronze Medal beating nemesis England in a shootout. Indian Junior Women will begin their campaign on April 2 against Wales at 12.30 pm.
