Hockey India announced a 15-member Sub-Junior Women’s squad selected for the national preparatory camp ahead of the Women’s Youth Hockey5s Asian Championship 2026. The intensive training block is currently underway at the world-class facilities of the Madhya Pradesh State Shooting Academy in Bhopal, running from July 4 to July 18, 2026.
The high-performance camp aims to prepare the young squad for the fast-paced Hockey5s format ahead of the continental tournament scheduled to be held in Muscat, Oman.
The Vision: Building a Multi-Tiered Talent Pipeline
The camp is being spearheaded by former Indian National Team Captain and current Sub-Junior Women’s Head Coach, Rani. Speaking on the tactical blueprint for the camp, Rani emphasized the evolutionary milestone this tournament represents for grassroots Indian hockey:
“The Women’s Youth Hockey5s Asian Championship presents a fantastic opportunity for our young players to gain valuable international exposure at an early stage of their careers. Since this is the first time sub-junior teams will be participating in an event of this nature, our focus will be on helping the players understand the unique demands of Hockey5s while also strengthening their fundamental skills and tactical awareness.”
— Coach Rani
The core long-term objective of this camp is structure-driven pipeline development. By embedding tactical awareness, fitness conditioning, and international exposure at the sub-junior level, Hockey India is engineering a robust, seamless transition pathway for athletes to graduate into the Under-21 junior team and eventually reinforce the senior national bench strength. This follows the sub-junior team’s recent successful outing at the U-18 Asia Cup in Japan, where they clinched a Bronze medal.
Camp Breakdown: Squad and Focus
The training curriculum over the two-week block focuses closely on optimizing fitness for the exhausting high-speed variables of the Hockey5s format, technical skill enhancement, and spatial-tactical awareness.
[Bhopal Preparatory Camp Roadmap]
Dates: July 4 - 18, 2026 ➔ Format Focus: Hockey5s ➔ Target Event: Muscat, Oman
The 15 domestic standouts selected for the national training camp include:
| No. | Player Name | No. | Player Name |
| 1 | Rashmeen Kaur | 9 | Nousheen Naz |
| 2 | Rubina Baxla | 10 | Shruti Kumari |
| 3 | Nancy Saroha | 11 | Nilam Topno |
| 4 | Pushpa Manjhi | 12 | Priyanka Minz |
| 5 | Khili Kumari | 13 | Diya |
| 6 | Kiran Ekka | 14 | Sandeepa Kumari |
| 7 | Sweety Kujur | 15 | Mahak Parihar |
| 8 | Sneha Davde |