Indian Women’s Hockey team is on the rise. After finishing 4th at Tokyo Olympics, they have finished 3rd in their FIH Pro League debut season. In next few days, they embark on their next challenge: Hockey World Cup – The Quadrennial World Championship. Here is a quick preview of the upcoming Women’s Hockey World Cup
Where is it taking place?
Spain and Netherlands are hosting the tournament.
When is the tournament scheduled?
1-17 July
Which teams have qualified?
16 teams have qualified for the 2022 World Cup.
Format of the tournament:
16 teams are drawn into 4 groups where each team will play the other 3 teams in round robin format. Top team from each group will directly qualify for the quarterfinals. Teams ranked 2nd and 3rd from each group will enter the pre-quarterfinal round. Winner of these 4 Pre-QF matches will enter QF.
Here are the 4 groups:
Group A: Netherlands, Germany, Ireland ,Chile
Group B: England, New Zealand, India, China
Group C: Argentina, Spain, South Korea, Canada
Group D: Australia, Belgium, Japan, South Africa
Schedule:
Group Stage: 1-7 July
Pre-QF: 9 & 10 July
QF: 12 & 13 July
SF: 16 July
Final: 17 July
India’s Group Stage schedule:
Match 1: England v India – 3 July – 8 PM
Match 2: India v China – 5 July – 8 PM
Match 3: India v New Zealand – 7 July – 8 PM
India’s track record at Women’s Hockey World Cup
In the last 14 editions of Women’s World Cup, India has participated in only 7 editions. India’s best place finish came at 1974 World Cup in France where they finished 4th. Here are the final rank of Team India in the 7 World Cups they have participated in:
1974 World Cup: 4th
1978 World Cup: 7th
1983 World Cup: 11th
1998 World Cup: 12th
2006 World Cup: 11th
2010 World Cup: 9th
2018 World Cup: 8th
Team India for 2022 Hockey World Cup:
Goalkeepers: Savita Punia (captain), Bichu Devi Kharibam
Defenders: Deep Grace Ekka (vice captain), Gurjit Kaur, Nikki Pradhan, Udita
Midfielders: Nisha, Sushila Chanu Pukhrambam, Monika, Neha, Jyoti, Navjot Kaur, Sonika, Salima Tete
Forwards: Vandana Katariya, Lalremsiami, Navneet Kaur, Sharmila Devi
Notable absentee from the list is Rani Rampal. She has been sidelined due to injury.
Where to watch:
2022 Women’s Hockey World Cup will be LIVE on Hotstar and Star Sports network.
Here’s wishing Team India all the very best for their World Cup campaign. 🇮🇳
