The Indian junior women’s hockey team will begin its Asia Cup campaign against Bangladesh here on Sunday as it will look to defend its title and directly qualify for next year’s Junior World Cup. This tournament, to be held from December 7 to 15, is also a qualifying tournament for the FIH Junior World Cup 2025 to be held in Chile.
Jyoti Singh will lead India under the guidance of coach Tushar Khandekar while Sakshi Rana will be the vice-captain. The team also includes players like Deepika, Vaishnavi Vitthal Phalke, Sunita Toppo and Mumtaz Khan who have been playing for the senior team since last year’s title win. Last year, India won the title for the first time by defeating South Korea 2-1 in the final.
India has been placed in Pool A along with China, Malaysia, Thailand and Bangladesh. Pool B includes South Korea, Japan, Chinese Taipei, Hong Kong and Sri Lanka. Each team will play each opponent in its pool once and the top two teams from each pool will advance to next year’s World Cup, with the semi-finals guaranteed. The third and fourth placed teams from each pool will compete for the final spot for the Junior World Cup.
Captain Jyoti said, “We are excited to take the field and make a strong start to the tournament. It will be challenging to defend the title, but I am sure the team will give its best and make our country proud.” He said, ”This tournament is very important because qualification for the Junior World Cup is at stake so we are again Determined to win the title. ,
If India finish among the top two teams in Pool A, they will advance to the semi-finals to be held on December 14. The title match of the tournament will be played on 15 December.