Indian women's hockey team beat Belgium men's junior team
Indian women's hockey team ended their Europe tour by beating Belgium junior men's team 4-3, in Antwerp. Gurjit Kaur and team captain Rani Rampal scored twice for the Indian side which got their first win of the tour. This was also coach Sjoerd Marijne's last match with the women's team, as the Dutchman is set to take over as Indian men's team coach.
Indian team's tour of Europe
An 18-member Indian women's hockey team led by captain Rani Rampal began their preparatory tour of Europe, on 5 Sep. The tour, which comes ahead of Asia Cup in Japan in October, will have four matches. This includes two matches on 8th, 15th September against Ladies Den Bosch, in Netherlands, and the other two on 11th and 18th Sep, against Belgium junior men's team.
Squad members
Goal Keepers : Savita (VC), Rajani Etimarpu; Defenders: Deep Grace Ekka, Gurjit Kaur, Navdeep Kaur, Sunita Lakra, Rashmita Minz; Midfielders : Namita Toppo, Nikki Pradhan, Monika, Karishma Yadav, Lilima Minz, Neha Goyal; Forwards : Rani Rampal (C), Poonam Rani, Vandana Katariya, Reena Khokhar, Lalremsiami.
Results from the previous three matches
In the first match of the tour, Indian team lost 0-1 to Ladies Den Bosch, in a closely fought encounter. In their second match, against Belgium junior men's side, the Indians managed a 2-2 draw with goals from Nikki Pradhan and Vandana. The team suffered a 1-3 loss in the third match, against Ladies Den Bosch, with the lone goal from Navdeep Kaur.
What next for the team?
The Women's hockey team will now take part in the Australian Hockey League from Sep 28 - 9 Oct.
