Jyoti Sunita Kullu to lead Indian women hockey team in Test series

New Delhi, Jun 29 (UNI) Ace forward Jyoti Sunita Kullu will lead a 20-member Indian Women Hockey team in a five-test series against Holland and New Zealand.

The series will be played in Amsterdam/Amstelveen (Holland) for which the Indian team left here last night.

The series, to be played between July 1 to 6, is a precursor to the team's preparation for the World Cup to be held in Madrid, Spain from September 27 to October 8.

The visitors will play three Tests against Holland on July 1, 2 and 4 and two Tests against New Zealand on July 5 and 6.

New Zealand is already in Holland in preparation for the Champions trophy.

The Indians are also slated to tour South Africa for four-Test series to be played on July 25, 26, 28 and 29.

Talking to newspersons here last evening, Indian Women Hockey Federation (IWHF) secretary Amrit Bose said the final team for the World Cup will be decided after the squad's return from Holland.

''The performance of the players in these two series will be the main criterias for the selection of the World cup team,'' she said.

Ms Bose also revealed that IWHF has signed a four-year sponsership deal with a Mumbai based company-City Limouzines.

The company will provide monthly stipend to the players based on their performance, to be assessed by a committee set by IWHF.

The team: Jyoti sunita Kullu (Capt), Helen Mary, Dipika Murthy, Kanti Baa, Suman Bala, Binita Toppo, Pushpa Pradhan, Nilima Kujur, Harjinder Kaur, Marita Tirkey, Subhadra Pradhan, Gagandeep Kaur, Th Ranjita, Saba Anjum, Deepika Thakur, Poonam Singh, Sarita Lakra, Asunta Lakra, Sanggai Ibemhal Chanu and Mamta Kharab.

Coaches: MK Kaushik, Anurita Saini, AB Subbaiah.

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