FIH Women’s Nations Cup: Lalthantluangi, Dabas earn maiden call-ups

Young defenders Lalthantluangi and Shilpi Dabas will once again be a part of Salima Tete-led national team, which will take part in the FIH Hockey Women’s Nations Cup New Zealand, scheduled to begin in Auckland from June 15 to 21.

India have been placed in Pool A of the tournament alongside Japan, United States and Uruguay, with Pool B comprising hosts New Zealand, Chile, Korea and France.

India will open their Nations Cup campaign against the United States on June 15, before facing Japan a day later. They will round off their pool stage with a clash against Uruguay on Thursday, June 18. The semi-finals are scheduled for Saturday, June 20 and the final on June 21.

Tete will continue to lead the side for the tournament. Savita and Bichu Devi Kharibam will provide the team with reliable and experienced options for goalkeeping.

In defence, seasoned Sushila Chanu Pukhrambam, Ishika Chaudhary, Nikki Pradhan and Jyoti will be joined by Lalthantluangi and Dabas, both of whom earned their maiden senior call-ups during the recently concluded tour of Australia and will be eager to continue their development at this level.

The midfield will be marshalled by Salima, who will draw on the expertise of Neha, Sunelita Toppo and Sakshi Rana around her.

They will be joined by Deepika Soreng, who also impressed during the friendly series in Australia.

In the forwardline, Navneet Kaur will be supported up front by Deepika, Rutuja Dadaso Pisal, Annu and Ishika besides seasoned attacking midfielders Lalremsiami and Sonam.

Collectively they bring a blend of pace, creativity and clinical finishing to the forward line.

The Indian squad heads into the Nations Cup on the back of a productive tour of Australia, where the side played a four-match friendly series in Perth in the lead-up to the FIH Hockey Women’s Nations Cup New Zealand 2025-26.

The series provided the team with invaluable experience, giving Chief Coach Sjoerd Marijne an opportunity to test the squad. India held the hosts to a 2-2 draw in the series after four competitive matches.

Chief coach Sjoerd Marijne underlined the importance of the team’s preparations ahead of a crucial phase, beginning with the Nations Cup, followed by the FIH World Cup and the Asian Games.

“The Nations Cup is an important tournament for us. We want to go there and play with ambition to set a standard for ourselves that we can build on,” Marijne said.

“We have built on those aspects in the Argentina and Australia tours, which gave us good preparation as a team. Now it is about taking the next step and showing that level consistently across a full tournament. The squad is motivated and ready for the challenge,” he said.

Sharing his thoughts on the squad selection, the chief coach added, “We have named a squad that has the right balance of experience and hunger. Players like Savita, Sushila, Nikki and Navneet have been in big tournaments before and know what it takes to perform under pressure.

“At the same time, we have players who are still developing at the highest level, and a tournament like this provides the environment where that growth happens. I am looking forward to seeing how this group comes together in Auckland.”