FIH Junior Women’s Hockey World Cup 2025: India squad preview, fixtures, strengths and weaknesses
The National Stadium Sports Park in Santiago will play host as the Indian junior women’s hockey team embarks upon an expedition to leave an indelible mark at the FIH 2025 Junior Hockey World Cup. The Chilean capital will organise the tournament for the second edition running, and India will hope to return with more than just a ninth-place finish to show.
In 2023, India faltered at the hands of Belgium and Germany in the group stage, though it managed to squeeze out the best possible outcome from that position with three consecutive wins in the classification rounds. This time around, the prospect of advancing appears more attainable after the competition’s expansion from 16 to 24 teams.
In Pool C, India will face two lower-ranked teams — Ireland and Namibia. However, the presence of world No. 3 Germany makes topping the group an arduous task. The team will be confident of making the final eight as one of the two best second-placed teams in the preliminary stage.
Spearheading India’s charge will be skipper Jyoti Singh, who will be keen to tap into her experience of partaking in the previous edition. Midfielders Sunelita Toppo and Sakshi Rana, along with forward Hina Bano, are the other squad members with prior know-how of the grandest stage.
“I’m very excited. As a captain, I have responsibilities, but I’m under no pressure because of the confidence I have in the team and the staff,” Jyoti told Sportstar.
Meet the squad
Goalkeepers
Nidhi, Engil Harsha Rani Minz
Defenders
Manisha, Lalthanlualangi, Sakshi Shukla, Puja Sahoo, Nandini
Midfielders
Sakshi Rana, Ishika, Sunelita Toppo, Jyoti Singh, Khaidem Shileima Chanu, Binima Dhan
Forwards
Sonam, Purnima Yadav, Kanika Siwach, Hina Bano, Sukhveer Kaur
Reserve players
Priyanka Yadav, Parwati Topno
Head coach Tushar Khandker, who was also in charge in 2023, says the victorious Asia Cup campaign late last year, followed by trips to Argentina, Belgium, Germany and Australia, has been ideal preparation for the global event.
“In the last six or seven months, we have trained a lot, and we played really good, competitive matches. The girls have improved from what they were in December 2024 (Asia Cup),” Khandker said.
“We have taken a step forward defensively. We’ve also worked hard on other sectors, like the opponent’s scoring area. Trying to net as many goals as possible is something we will work on until the last minute,” he added. India suffered a reverse against China in the group stage of the continental tournament, but quickly returned to winning ways to force a rematch in the final. The neighbour was eventually dispelled in a shoot-out following a 1-1 draw, thanks to the heroics of goalkeeper Nidhi. “We had only one thing in mind,” said Jyoti, reminiscing about that game. “No matter what is happening on the field, we just had to win that match.”
This is the level of conviction Khandker will expect from his wards as they head into the biggest test in their blossoming careers.
“We have the confidence to beat any team in the world. We need to believe in our system, what we’ve practised in training and what we’re learning on the pitch,” the skipper asserted.
Published on Nov 25, 2025