2021 Women's Junior Hockey World Cup: Who are the Tokyo 2020 stars in India squad?
Three members of India's 18-member squad for the junior World Cup competed at Tokyo 2020
The Indian women's hockey has seen an upliftment of sorts after their impressive fourth-placed finish at Tokyo 2020. Now the baton has been passed on to the junior team as they look to clinch a medal at the 2021 Women's Junior Hockey World Cup, slated to get underway from December 5 at Potchefstroom, South Africa.
Three members of India's 18-member squad for the tournament competed at Tokyo 2020 and their experience may prove crucial.
India are placed along with Argentina, Japan and Russia in the Pool C and will begin their campaign against Russia on December 6. Let us look at the three Indian Olympians in the fray:
Lalremsiami
The premier Indian forward will lead the Indian team at the 2021 Women's Junior Hockey World Cup.
She made her debut for the national team at the 2017 Asia Cup where India won the gold medal. Since then, the 21-year-old has earned 72 caps for India and found the net 23 times. Her presence in front of the goal will be crucial for the team during the Junior Hockey World Cup.
Lalremsiami idolizes current national team captain Rani Rampal and hopes to have her leadership skills.
She became the first female athlete from Mizoram to represent India at the Olympic Games in Tokyo 2020.
Salima Tete
The premier Indian midfielder's swift movement and brilliant runs will be crucial for the team at the Junior Hockey World Cup.
Tete was the captain of the Indian team which won the silver medal at the 2018 Youth Olympic Games.
Her speed had also turned out to be an advantage for the national team at Tokyo 2020 as it helped them earn plenty of penalty corners. The Jharkhand athlete has earned 37 caps for the national team since making her debut in 2017.
Sharmila Devi
Devi made her national team debut in 2019 and has earned 19 caps for the team.
She has the knack of attacking and can score poacher's goals. She has netted twice for the national team since 2019.
At Tokyo 2020, her lone goal came in India's 1-4 loss against Great Britain in the group stage match.