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The Indian Women's Hockey team will open their campaign against Malaysia in the upcoming Women's Asian Hockey 5s World Cup Qualifier. The Hockey 5s World Cup Qualifier which begins on August 25 will witness 10 teams placed in two pools - Elite Pool and Challenger Pool.
The Indian side is placed in the Elite Pool along with Malaysia, Japan, and Thailand. India will face all three teams in the Elite Pool. The team will begin their campaign against Malaysia on August 25 and then face Japan followed by Thailand.
The Challenger Pool consists of Chinese Taipei, Hong Kong China, Indonesia, Oman Bangladesh, and Iran. The top two teams of each pool will make it to the semifinals. Three teams will qualify for the World Cup from the ten teams.
The Indian team will be led by Navjot Kaur. She will hold the key in the mid-field along with Ajmina Kujur. Jyoti has been appointed as Navjot's deputy. Along with Mariana Kujur and Dipi Monika Toppo, she will be playing as the forward for the Indian team. The team's goalkeeper is Bansari Solanki. Akshata Abaso Dhekale, Sonia Devi, and Mahima Chaudhary will take care of India's defense.
The Indian team left for Oman on Wednesday, August 23. Addressing the media before their flight, the team captain Navjot Kaur said that she is confident of the Indian team despite being placed in a tough pool. She said that the team would put its best foot forward and would return home with a medal.
Draw for Hockey 5s Women's World Cup to be announced on September 3
The Hockey 5s Women's World Cup will also take place in Salalah Oman from January 24-31, 2024. The draw announcement for the first-ever World Cup will take place in Salalah Oman on September 3 at 7 pm GST, one day after the Asian Qualifiers.
The World Cup will witness 16 teams placed as four teams each in four pools. The 13 teams in both men's and women's tournaments are already known. The other three teams will be decided from the upcoming Asian Hockey 5s World Cup Qualifier. The hosts Oman are already qualified for the Hockey 5s World Cup.
