Indian women's hockey team departs to London for Commonwealth Games 2022

The Indian women's hockey squad was in Barcelona after finishing their FIH Women's Hockey World Cup campaign at the 9th spot in a joint finish alongside China. They left for London from Spain on the morning of July 18 and will be travelling to Nottingham for training sessions, following which they will travel to Birmingham on July 23.

The 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games are set to kick off on July 28. India will open their campaign for a hockey medal against Ghana on July 29.

The India hockey squad for the 2022 Commonwealth Games squad will consist of:

Goalkeepers: Savita Punia and Rajani Etimarpu 

Forwards: Sangita Kumari, Devi, Navneet Kaur, Sharmila Lalremsiami and Vandana Katariya

Defenders: Deep Grace Ekka, Nikki Pradhan, Udita and Gurjit Kaur

Midfielders: Nisha, Jyoti, Neha, Monika, Navjot Kaur, Salima Tete and Sushila Chanu Pukhrambam

The team is led by Savita Punia, while Deep Grace Ekka will be the vice-captain.

When talking about the disappointing performance of India at the FIH Women's World Cup, Savita Punia said, "Unfortunately, we couldn't play to our potential at the FIH Hockey Women's World Cup Spain & Netherlands 2022, but we are very determined to turn our form around at the Commonwealth Games 2022" We have a great squad with a great balance of experienced and young players. We will take a fresh start at CWG 2022. I am sure we will be able to take on the best teams in the competition."

India will be trying to bounce back after the Women's World Cup's poor showing at the 2022 Commonwealth Games as they aim for a podium finish. According to Savita Punia, the Indian squad needs to work on specific aspects of their game and make a few tweaks to help them notch up consecutive victories. They will be working on these issues in the run-up to their opening match, intending to roar into the competition with a clean slate.