New Delhi, March 16 (Agency) Senior Women’s National Team head coach Thomas Dennerby on Thursday named a 23- member squad that will play friendlies in Jordan and Uzbekistan in March. The senior girls will play in Jordan between March 17 to March 22, and in Uzbekistan from March 23-29. The Blue Tigresses will be playing these matches in preparation for the team’s participation inRound 1 of the AFC Women’s Olympic Qualifiers. India, placed in Group G, will take on hostsKyrgyz Republic and Turkmenistan in a round robin format from April 4-10.The seven group winners from the first round of the qualifiers will join Asia’s five highest-ranked teams — DPR Korea, Japan, Australia, China and the Republic of Korea — in the second roundof the Paris 2024 Olympic women’s football qualifiers to be held in October.
The 23-member squad is as follows:Goalkeepers: Sowmiya Narayanasamy, Shreya Hooda and Elangbam Panthoi Chanu.Defenders: Ashalata Devi Loitongbam, Sweety Devi Ngangbam, Ritu Rani, Ranjana Chanu Sorokhaibam, Michel Castanha, Dalima Chhibber, Manisa Panna and Juli Kishan.Midfielders: Shilky Devi Hemam, Anju Tamang, Indumathi Kathiresan, Sangita Basfore, Roja Devi Asem, Karthika Angamuthu and Kashmina.Forwards: Grace Dangmei, Renu, Karishma Shirvoikar, Sandhiya Ranganathan and Apurna Narzary.Fixtures:March 20: Nepal vs India, 1445 hrs ISTMarch 24: India vs Bangladesh, 1845 hrs ISTMarch 26: India vs Bhutan, 1445 hrs ISTMarch 28: Russia vs India, 1845 hrs IST