FIH Women's World Cup 2018: All You Need to Know About India's Campaign | Hockey News

NEW DELHI: Seeking to win his first World Cup medal, India will begin its campaign at the 2018 Women's World Cup against its host country, England, on the day of the World Cup. 39th tournament opening, July 21st.

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The team led by striker Rani Rampal and coached by Sjoerd Marijne left for London on Sunday. The players appeared in good shape during the preparatory tour in Spain, where India drew the series of five tries against hosts 2-2.

In addition to England 's No. 2 team in Pool B, the seventh place in the United States is the other team that ranks higher than the & [[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[ India No. 10 in the rankings of the International Hockey Federation (FIH). Ireland (16th) is the fourth team in the pool.

The top-seeded team in each of the four pools will qualify directly for the quarter-finals, while the teams that finish second and third will be in cross-play to decide the remaining four quarter-finals.

Argentina, Australia, Belgium, China, Germany, Italy, Japan, Korea, the Netherlands, New Zealand, the United States. South Africa and Spain are the other 12 teams in the fray.

India 's best performance at the World Cup dates back to the inaugural edition of the tournament in 1974, when she finished fourth, losing the bronze medal game to the world. West Germany 0-2.

Interesting in this edition, 16 of the 18 Indian players will make their debut at the World Cup. Only skipper Rani and senior member of the team, Deepika, have already competed at a World Cup.

The defending champions of the Netherlands have won the tournament seven times without precedent.

Here is all you need to know:

DATES: July 21 to August 5

LOCATION: Lee Valley Hockey & Tennis Center, London

NUMBER OF TEAMS: 16

SWIMMING POOLS

Pool A: China, Italy, Korea, Netherlands

Pool B: England, India, Ireland, USA

Pool C: Argentina, Germany, South Africa, Spain

Pool D: Australia, Belgium, Japan, New Zealand

CALENDAR OF INDIA (Timing IST)

July 21 – India vs England – 1830

July 26 – India vs Ireland – 1830

July 29 – India vs United States – 2130

CROSSING MATCHES (IST)

July 30 – 22:30 and 0045 (next day)

July 31 – 22:30 and 0045 (next day)

QUARTERFINALS (IST)

Aug 1 – 22:30 and 00:45 (next day)

August 2 – 22:30 and 00:45 (next day)

SEMI-FINALS (IST)

Aug 4 – 1830 and 2100

MATCHES OF MEDAL (IST)

Bronze (3rd place) – 1830

Gold (Final) – 2100

WH WHERE TO START: Star Sports & Hotstar

INDIA SQUAD

Goalkeepers: Savita (vice-captain), Rajani Etimarpu

Defenders: Sunita Lakra, Deep Grace Ekka, Deepika, Gurjit Kaur, Reena Khokhar

Midfielder: Namita Toppo, Lilima Minz, Monika, Neha Goyal, Navjot Kaur, Nikki Pradhan

Forwards: Rani Rampal (Captain), Vandana Katariya, Navneet Kaur, Lalremsiami, Udita