ROURKELA/NEW DELHI:Experienced defender Sunita Lakra will lead the 18-member Indian women’s squad at Asian Champions Trophy hockey tournament to be held in Donghae in South Korea from May 13. Sunita was handed the captain’s armband in the absence of Rani, who has been rested for the tournament, while goalkeeper Savita will shoulder the responsibility of vice- captain, Hockey India said on Wednesday.
The Indians, who go into the tournament as defending champions, will be hoping to ride on the good show at the recently held Commonwealth Games in Australia where they entered the semi-finals after 12 years but eventually finished fourth.
Sunita’s elevation has brought cheers to her former coach A N Bihari at Rourkela-based Panposh Sports Hostel (PSH) and inmates of PSH in Sundargarh district. Bihari, who is now coach-in-charge of Government-run Sundargarh Sports Hostel, had shaped Sunita’s game during her formative years at Government-run PSH. Bihari is also proud of the fact that three other Odia players, Namita Toppo, Lilima Minz and Anupa Barla, are also his former pupils. The fifth player from Sundargarh district to be included in the women’s team is Deep Grace Ekka, who is a former inmate of Sundargarh Sports Hostel.
Bihari said Sunita has brought laurels for PSH and Odisha and hoped that under her leadership, the women’s hockey team would perform well in the Asian Champions Trophy.Sunita (27) will be the third Indian women’s hockey captain from Odisha. Before her, Jyoti Sunita Kullu had captained the India team during early 2000s. Subhadra Pradhan had become the Indian hockey skipper for junior women’s team in 2004 and then became captain of the senior Indian women’s hockey team in 2013.
(With Agency inputs)