Ritu Rani to lead India in World Hockey League semis

Ritu Rani has been named captain of the 8-member Indian women's hockey team that will play the semifinals of the World League Round 3 at Rotterdam, The Netherlands from June 13.

Midfielder Chanchan Devi (82 caps) will be the Vice-Captain of the squad.

The team was selected by Hockey India on May 17.

Among the selectors were the former hockey players Col. Balbir Singh and B P Govinda, Dutch Director for High Performance Roelant Oltmans and Chief Coach Neil Hawgood, along with Government Observer Harbinder Singh.

The Indian team qualified for the league when they won the World League Round 2 tournament held in Delhi in February this year.

The FIH World League is a qualification tournament for the FIH Women's World Cup 2014 to be played in Hague, the Netherlands from 31 May-14 June 2014.

India is placed in Pool B with New Zealand, Germany and Belgium, while hosts, The Netherlands, Korea, Japan and Chile are placed in Pool A.

"The team will depart for Rotterdam on 5 June 2013, with their opening match against New Zealand on 13 June 2013," HI stated.

The league, which falls under the aegis of the International Hockey Federation (FIH), will be played till June 23. 

Image: India captain Ritu Rani

Photograph: Rediff.com archieves