India's Women's Hockey Machine Starts Its Engines: 31 Players, One Mission, And A Golden Road That Leads All The Way To Los Angeles

India's women's hockey programme does not do things quietly anymore. Hockey India's announcement of a 31-member Senior Women's National Coaching Camp squad to be held at the Sports Authority of India (SAI) South Centre in Bengaluru is the clearest signal yet that the federation is treating the 2026–28 window with the seriousness it deserves. The camp brings together India's full depth of women's hockey talent: seasoned internationals who anchored the Paris 2024 Olympic campaign, mid-career players hitting their peak, and a new wave of junior programme graduates ready to step into senior roles. Every player on this list knows the stakes are real, the competition for spots is fierce, and the destination Los Angeles 2028 is worth every hour on the astroturf.

The Squad: A Full Breakdown By Position

Hockey India's 31-member camp squad has been carefully assembled across all positions, with the selectors and chief coach Janneke Schopman the Dutch tactician who has been transforming India's women's game with her possession-based, high-press philosophy prioritising both proven performers and high-potential challengers.

Goalkeepers named include Savita Punia India's captain and one of Asia's finest goalkeepers alongside Bichu Devi Kharibam and Rajani Etimarpu, giving the coaching staff three strong options between the sticks and the ability to test backup combinations without risk to the first-choice setup.

In defence, the squad features Deep Grace Ekka, Gurjit Kaur (who pulls double duty as a specialist drag-flicker and defensive anchor), Nikki Pradhan, Sushila Chanu Pukhrambam, and several others who have formed the spine of India's defensive structure over recent years. The defensive unit's discipline and organisation were among India's most improved facets at the Paris Olympics, and the camp will look to build on that foundation.

The midfield India's creative engine includes Navneet Kaur, Neha, Monika, and the electrifying Salima Tete, who serves as vice-captain and is arguably India's most dynamic midfielder in open play, capable of winning the ball high up the pitch and driving forward with pace and vision. The midfield unit's pressing triggers and transition play will receive significant coaching attention during the camp block.

Up front, the squad includes Vandana Katariya India's all-time leading scorer and a player whose tournament experience is irreplaceable alongside Lalremsiami, Sharmila Devi, and several younger forwards who have been performing consistently in domestic and junior international hockey. Sharmila Devi in particular has been in outstanding form and is widely regarded as one of the most exciting young forwards in Asian women's hockey.

Janneke Schopman's Vision For This Camp

Chief coach Janneke Schopman, who took charge of the Indian women's team in January 2022, has steadily built a sophisticated tactical identity around high defensive pressure, quick transitions, and structured attacking patterns through the left and right channels. Her core priorities for this camp are understood to include:

• Bedding in the high-press defensive structure against different opponent press-escape patterns
• Improving penalty corner conversion rates India created 27 penalty corners at the Paris Olympics but converted at a rate below their capacity
• Developing the forward line's movement off the ball and combination play in the final circle
• Building fitness reserves specifically for multi-match tournament formats where fatigue management becomes decisive
• Trialling younger players in specific positions to build genuine competition for every berth in the 18-member squad

Schopman has been particularly vocal about the need to develop depth specifically ensuring that India's performance level does not drop significantly when key players are unavailable through injury or suspension, a vulnerability that cost India in crucial moments at previous tournaments.

The Bengaluru Facility: World-Class Infrastructure

The SAI South Centre in Bengaluru is one of India's premier hockey training facilities, equipped with two synthetic astroturf pitches of international standard, a fully equipped gymnasium and strength-and-conditioning suite, sports science and physiotherapy support, video analysis infrastructure, a 50-metre swimming pool for cross-training and recovery, and residential accommodation for the full squad. The Bengaluru campus has hosted multiple senior national hockey camps over the years and is the preferred venue for Hockey India's women's programme preparation blocks due to its consistent pitch quality and integrated support ecosystem.

The International Calendar Driving Urgency

• The 31-member camp is not happening in a vacuum it is a direct response to a loaded international calendar that begins delivering high-stakes results in the second half of 2026:
• The FIH Women's Pro League 2025–26 season, in which India competes against the Netherlands, Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Germany, China, and the United States, is the highest-quality regular competition available to Indian women's hockey and is crucial for maintaining world ranking points. India's ranking directly determines seeding at major tournaments and qualification pathway advantages.
• The Women's Asia Cup 2026, expected in the second half of the year, is the continent's premier women's hockey tournament. India are defending champions having won the 2022 edition and a successful defence would both consolidate their status as Asia's dominant women's hockey force and deliver automatic qualification points for the 2026 Women's Hockey World Cup.
• The Women's Hockey World Cup 2026, scheduled in the Netherlands, represents India's next major global stage and the tournament where the programme's tactical and physical development will face its sternest test.

Paris 2024: The Foundation This Camp Builds On

India's women's hockey team qualified for the Paris 2024 Olympics only the second time in the programme's history and delivered a competitive campaign that demonstrated genuine progress against the world's elite. The national camp system is now calibrated specifically to close the remaining gap between India's current level and the medal-contending standard of the Netherlands, Argentina, and Australia the three nations that have consistently dominated the podium at the last three Olympics. Hockey India's long-term target is an Olympic medal at LA 2028, and this 31-member camp is the first serious step of that four-year mission.

Hockey Camp Highlights

• Hockey India has named a 31-member squad for the Senior Women's National Coaching Camp at the SAI South Centre, Bengaluru
• The squad includes captain and goalkeeper Savita Punia, vice-captain Salima Tete, all-time leading scorer Vandana Katariya, drag-flicker Gurjit Kaur, and exciting young forward Sharmila Devi
• Chief coach Janneke Schopman India's Dutch tactician since January 2022 leads the camp with focus on high-press defence, penalty corner conversion, and forward line combinations
• Three goalkeepers named: Savita Punia, Bichu Devi Kharibam, and Rajani Etimarpu, providing full depth assessment between the sticks
• Camp priorities include fitness reserves for multi-match tournaments, tactical pattern reinforcement, and depth building across all positions
• The camp directly prepares India for the FIH Pro League 2025–26, Women's Asia Cup 2026 (India are defending champions), and the Women's Hockey World Cup 2026 in the Netherlands
• India qualified for the Paris 2024 Olympics only the second time in the women's programme's history and are now targeting an Olympic medal at LA 2028
• The 31-member pool will be assessed and trimmed to an 18-member travelling squad for each tournament assignment based on form, fitness, and tactical fit

Sources: Hockey India official announcement (May 2026)