Indian eves meet Uruguay first

India will face Uruguay in their opening match of the women's World Cup hockey qualifying tournament, scheduled to be held in Amiens and Abbeville in France, from September 17 to 30.

The team, to be led by goalkeeper Tingoleima Chanu, is placed in the eight-team Pool A of the 16-team competition, from which seven countries will qualify for the 10th women's World Cup, to be held at Perth, Australia, in November-December 2002.

Pool A comprises England, France, India, Ireland, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Ukraine and Uruguay while Belgium, Canada, Japan, Lithuania, Malaysia, Russia, Scotland and United States make up Pool B.

The Indian Women's Hockey Federation, which announced the team on Wednesday, dropped three players -- Suman Deswal, Anu Kumari and Subhadra Pradhan -- from the team that toured New Zealand and Australia in June. They have been replaced by Helen Mary, Kanti Baa and Adline Kerketta.

The team will leave for France on September 12.

The team: Tingoleima Chanu (Capt.), Helen Mary, Amandeep Kaur, Suman Bala, Kanti Baa, Sita Gossain, Sumari Tete, Agnecia Lugun, Masira Surin, Neha Singh, Manjinder Kaur, Jyoti Sunita Kullu, Saggai Ibemal Chanu, Suraj Lata Devi, Pakpi Devi, Adline Kerketta, Mamta Kharab and Surinder Kaur.
Officials: Ms. Rupa Saini (manager), Mr. A.K. Bansal (chief coach), Mr. N.S. Saini (coach) and Dr. Ashok Ahuja.

Match schedule for India:
Monday, September 17, 2001: India vs Uruguay
Wednesday, September 19: India vs Ireland
Thursday, September 20: India vs Kenya
Saturday, September 22: India vs Ukraine
Sunday, September 23: India vs England
Tuesday, September 25: India vs France
Wednesday, September 26: India vs Kazakhstan
Saturday, September 29: Semi-finals and classification matches
Sunday, September 30: Final and classification matches.