New Delhi, May 26 : Hockey India on Saturday named 48 players for the senior women national camp to be held from May 28 to June 9 at the Sports Authority of India, Bengaluru ahead of a tour to Spain and the FIH Women's World Cup in London.

After ending their 5th Women's Asian Champions Trophy campaign with a silver medal, the Indian team will regroup for the training camp under chief coach Sjoerd Marijne on Monday.

The team will make use of this short preparatory camp that concludes on June 9 to assess their performance and work on the short comings ahead of the Spain tour that begins on June 10.

"We will use this camp to further improve our fitness and evaluate the Asian Champions Trophy performance. We will also continue to work closely with the psychologist to improve the mental skills both individually and the team," Marijne said in a statement.

The present national campers list includes goalkeepers Savita, Rajani Etimarpu, Swati, Chanchal, Sonal Minj and Jaspreet Kaur.

Defenders Deep Grace Ekka, Sunita Lakra, Sushila Chanu Phukhrambam, Gurjit Kaur, Rashmita Minz, Suman Devi Thoudam, Deepika, Neelu Dadiya, Mahima Choudhary, Kanika Raj, Manmeet Kaur, S.P. Kruthika, Nisha have been called up for the camp.

The list of midfielders include Nikki Pradhan, Monika, Lilima Minz, Namita Toppo, Neha Goyal, Udita, Manpreet Kaur, Jyoti, Ramwala Maitri, Anuja Singh, Anajali HR, Shyama Tidgam, Sonika, Puja Yadav and Karishma Yadav.

Forwards Rani, Lalremsiami, Navneet Kaur, Navjot Kaur, Rajwinder Kaur, Vandana Katariya, Anupa Barla, Priyanka Wankhede, Preeti Dubey, Reena Khokhar, Siddhi Singh, Leelavathy Mallamada, Soundarya Yendela and Birajani Ekka too will report to the camp on Monday.

"The girls have played quite a lot of matches over the past two months and we need to be careful with their work load to ensure they are fresh mentally and physically," stated Marijne.

National Campers List:

Goalkeepers: Savita, Rajani Etimarpu, Swati, Chanchal, Sonal Minj, Jaspreet Kaur.

Defenders: Deep Grace Ekka, Sunita Lakra, Sushila Chanu Phukhrambam, Gurjit Kaur, Rashmita Minz, Suman Devi Thoudam, Deepika, Neelu Dadiya, Mahima Choudhary, Kanika Raj, Manmeet Kaur, S.P. Kruthika, Nisha.

Midfielders: Nikki Pradhan, Monika, Lilima Minz, Namita Toppo, Neha Goyal, Udita, Manpreet Kaur, Jyoti, Ramwala Maitri, Anuja Singh, Anajali HR, Shyama Tidgam, Sonika, Puja Yadav, Karishma Yadav.

Forwards: Rani, Lalremsiami, Navneet Kaur, Navjot Kaur, Rajwinder Kaur, Vandana Katariya, Anupa Barla, Priyanka Wankhede, Preeti Dubey, Reena Khokhar, Siddhi Singh, Leelavathy Mallamada, Soundarya Yendela, Birajani Ekka.

 

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Dubai (AP/PTI): Iran's first Vice President Mohammad Mokhber was appointed as acting president of the Islamic Republic on Monday after the death of President Ebrahim Raisi in a helicopter crash in the country's northwest.

Raisi's death under the constitution thrust Mokhber into public view. He is expected to serve as caretaker president for some 50 days before mandatory presidential elections in Iran.

Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei made the announcement of Mokhber's appointment in a condolence message he shared for Raisi's death in the crash Sunday. The helicopter was found Monday in northwestern Iran.

Despite his low-key public profile, Mokhber has held prominent positions with in the country's power structure, particularly in its bonyads, or charitable foundations. 

Mokhber oversaw a bonyad known in English as the Execution of Imam Khomeini's Order, or EIKO, referring to the late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini.

The US Treasury said the organisation oversaw billions of dollars in assets as “a business juggernaut under the direct supervision of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei that has a stake in nearly every sector of the Iranian economy, including energy, telecommunications, and financial services”.

“EIKO has systematically violated the rights of dissidents by confiscating land and property from opponents of the regime, including political opponents, religious minorities, and exiled Iranians,” the Treasury said in 2021 in sanctioning Mokhber. The European Union also had sanctioned Mokhber for a time with others over concerns then about Iran's nuclear programme.

As the head of EIKO, Mokhber oversaw an effort to make a COVID-19 vaccine during the height of the pandemic, pledging to make tens of millions of doses. 

Mokhber previously worked in banking and telecommunications. He also worked at the Mostazafan Foundation, another bonyad that's a major conglomerate that manages the country's mega-projects and businesses. While there, he found himself entangled in a bitter legal dispute between mobile phone service providers Turkcell and South Africa's MTN over potentially entering the Iranian market.

Iranian media reports suggest Mokhber, who holds a doctorate in international law, was crucial in Iranian efforts to bypass Western sanctions on its oil industry.

Mokhber has been a member of Iran's Expediency Council since 2022, which advises the supreme leader, as well as settles disputes between parliament and the Guardian Council, Iran's constitutional watchdog that also oversees the country's elections.

Mokhber was born Sept 1, 1955, in Dezful in Iran's southwestern Khuzestan province to a clerical family. He served as an officer in the Revolutionary Guard's medical corps during the 1980s Iran-Iraq war, according to the pressure group United Against Nuclear Iran.

“Mokhber used the vast wealth accumulated by EIKO — at the expense of the Iranian people—to reward regime insiders like himself,” UANI said. “Managing the patronage network endeared him to the supreme leader, but at a cost.”