Field Hockey Canada announces 12 Women bound for Pretoria
Twelve months after the Indoor World Cup was postponed without a reschedule date, Canada gets their chance to shine on the world stage. Field Hockey Canada is thrilled to announce the 12-woman roster bound for Pretoria, South Africa, for the 2023 FIH Indoor World Cup.
Following the cancellation of the 2022 Indoor World Cup, several of the more experienced athletes hung up the boots to make way for a new generation of indoor hockey stars. According to head coach, Shankar Premakanthan, the current roster is composed of primarily younger athletes in their early 20s with the support of some more veteran experience.
“It’s a younger group, overall, than the one that was set to travel last year,” he said. “But with that youth comes speed, talent, and skill. It’s super encouraging to see them grow over the past several months. They are a group that adapts well on the fly and believe in our team goals.”
Premakanthan played in four Indoor World Cups himself, but this is the first time he’s been the head coach at the event. His experience will no doubt be important as this team takes to the world stage. He said he’ll also be relying on the leadership of the experienced players, on and off the field.
“It will be a different flavour, for sure, coaching at this tournament as opposed to playing,” he said. “We have a great group. We’ll lean on the more experienced players to set the tone and lead the way. It’s going to be a unique experience for everyone.”
It was almost a year ago exactly that the Omicron COVID variant postponed the Indoor World Cup. Premakanthan said he remembers it vividly as they were just about to depart for Belgium. Since that moment, it’s all been about progress, he said.
“It was definitely a big challenge, we basically had to do a one-year rebuild” he noted. “But the whole year since then, it’s just been about making strides and progressing forward. We’ve been ascending every step of the way. From our December mini tournament to the Rohrmax Cup and now departing to the World Cup. Each step has been progressively more challenging and better for our development.”
The team travels on January 30 and the tournament begins on February 5. All games will be available on watch.hockey. Click for more details and see roster below.
ROSTER:
| PLAYER NAME | HOMETOWN | CLUB/SCHOOL |
|---|---|---|
| Madison Babineau | Grimsby, ON | A&C Academy |
| Paramdeep Gill - GK | Brampton, ON | University of Toronto |
| Abrie Girgis | Ottawa, ON | Outaouis/Gloucester |
| Rowan Harris - GK | Ottawa, ON | Vancouver Hawks |
| Kathleen Leahy | Victoria, BC | Vancouver Hawks |
| Alison Lee | Toronto, ON | Toronto Toros |
| Kathleen Lynes | Oakville, ON | University of Toronto |
| Samantha McCrory | Kitchener, ON | University of Toronto |
| Prava Sandhu | Prava Sandhu | York University |
| Natalie Winter | Coquitlam, BC | York University |
| Elise Wong | Vancouver, BC | Vancouver Hawks |
| Emily Ziraldo | Toronto, ON | GOA/Toronto Toros |
| RESERVES | ||
| Elizabeth Friedberg | ||
| Olivia Friedberg | ||
| Molly Koop | ||
| Alana Raymond | ||
| Jessica Aun - GK |
STAFF:
Head Coach: Shankar Premakanthan – Ottawa, ON
Assistant Coach: Louis Mendonca – Thornhill, ON
Team Manager: Sherry Doiron – Kitchener, ON
Team Therapist: Elwin Lau – Toronto, ON
Support the Women’s Indoor Team
As the indoor program is entirely self-funded, athletes and staff focus time not only on their training efforts but fundraising to help off-set the costs required to adequately prepare for such competition. We need YOU to help these dedicated athletes achieve their World Cup dreams. Your support would help them get that much closer to succeeding.
SEND OFF DINNER:
Join us as we celebrate the Indoor Women’s National Team’s departure to the Indoor World Cup in Pretoria, South Africa!
We are hosting a send off dinner to congratulate the team on their achievement, while simultaneously helping them raise funds for their trip. A portion of the proceeds from your ticket purchase will contribute to their flights, accommodations, meals and more!
If you aren’t able to attend the event, please consider buying a “virtual ticket” to show your support for the team!
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