Indian Junior Women's Hockey Team Concludes Successful UK Tour Ahead of Women's Junior Asia Cup

July 15, 2026: The Indian Junior Women's Hockey Team concluded a productive exposure tour of the United Kingdom after competing in seven high-intensity matches against Scotland Senior Women, USA U-21, England U-21 and Belgium U-21. The tour provided the young Indian squad with crucial international experience as they continue preparations for the upcoming Women's Junior Asia Cup in China.

India finished the tour with three victories, three defeats and one shootout loss, demonstrating resilience, attacking quality and steady improvement against strong international opposition.

Mixed Start Before India Found Their Rhythm

The tour began in Edinburgh with two challenging encounters against the Scotland Senior Women's team. India suffered a narrow 3-2 defeat in the opening match before Scotland secured a 3-1 victory in the second fixture. Shashi Khasa scored India's only goal in the second meeting, while Bronwyn Shields, Zara Kennedy and Charlotte Watson found the net for Scotland.

India responded emphatically in the third match, producing a dominant 6-0 victory over the USA U-21. Sukhveer Kaur starred with a brace, while Kajal, Shashi Khasa, Purnima Yadav and Puja Sahoo also got on the scoresheet in the team's biggest win of the tour.

The winning momentum continued against England U-21, with India registering a clinical 2-0 victory thanks to goals from Binima Dhan and Roshni Aind.

Strong Finish Against Top Opposition

India's fifth match against the USA U-21 ended in a 1-1 draw after Puja Sahoo converted a penalty corner before Reese Anetsberger equalised through a penalty stroke. The USA edged the subsequent shootout 3-2 despite successful conversions from Shashi Khasa and Geeta Yadav.

The Indian side quickly bounced back by defeating England U-21 for a second time during the tour. Krishna Sharma and Purnima Yadav scored field goals in a composed 2-0 victory.

India concluded the tour with a hard-fought 2-1 defeat against Belgium U-21. Louise Van Herendael and Romanie Verhaeghe scored for Belgium before Sukhveer Kaur pulled one back late in the contest.

Captain Reflects on Valuable Learning Experience

Across the seven matches, the Indian Junior Women's Hockey Team gained valuable exposure against some of the strongest junior and senior international teams while adapting to different styles of play and match situations.

"This tour has been a fantastic learning experience for all of us. Playing against strong international teams with different styles of hockey challenged us to adapt quickly and improve with every match. We have taken a lot of confidence from our performances, especially the way we bounced back after difficult results. These matches have helped us understand the areas where we are doing well and where we still need to improve. As a team, we are now looking forward to carrying these learnings into our preparations for the Women's Junior Asia Cup in China. The experience we have gained here will be invaluable as we work towards achieving our goals later this year," said captain Shileima Chanu Khaidem.

Tour Results

Match	Result
India vs Scotland Senior Women	Lost 2-3
India vs Scotland Senior Women	Lost 1-3
India vs USA U-21	Won 6-0
India vs England U-21	Won 2-0
India vs USA U-21	Drew 1-1 (USA won shootout 3-2)
India vs England U-21	Won 2-0
India vs Belgium U-21	Lost 1-2

Looking Ahead

The successful exposure tour provided the Indian Junior Women's Hockey Team with valuable competitive experience ahead of the Women's Junior Asia Cup later this year. The coaching staff will be encouraged by the team's resilience, attacking performances and ability to recover strongly after setbacks as preparations continue for the continental tournament in China.

 

 

(Inputs from Press Release)