CHENNAI: Midfield mainstay, Rani Rampal, may be forced to skip the upcoming World Cup qualifiers in Muscat because of a hamstring injury. Rani, who was rested during the Asian Champions Trophy, has not fully recovered. The qualifiers, set to begin from January 21, was originally slated to be held in Bangkok, but it’s since been moved to Muscat. The tournament also doubles up as the Asia Cup with the top four teams advancing to the World Cup in Spain in July. The other six teams are China, South Korea, Japan, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia and Singapore.
India start favourites but they would have liked to travel to the competition with Rani, their regular captain. It’s expected that goalkeeper Savita, the deputy, may stand in. The trials to pick the squad for Asia Cup will be held at the SAI campus in Bengaluru soon.
The probables, currently some 60 players, will be pruned to 18 before the team departs for Muscat. After they comeback, their training is expected to shift to Bhubaneswar because of their FIH Pro League matches against Netherlands.
Full story: newindianexpress.com